Stop hatching the elections, solve egg shortage, says MP

 

Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin said he found that eggs were sold out by afternoon at wet markets he had visited.

PETALING JAYA: Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin has called on government leaders to focus on solving egg shortage in the market rather than talking about the coming general election.

Sim said he had found that eggs were completely sold out by afternoon when he visited wet markets.

“I urge the ministers in the anti-inflation ‘jihad’ task force to stop thinking about the general election. They should call for a meeting immediately and figure out a solution for this shortage,” he said.

In a Facebook posting, he said suppliers had stated that egg production had dropped by 30-40%. The egg shortage showed that the government had failed to ensure adequate food supply, he said, pointing out that eggs were the cheapest protein food source.

Sim Tze Tzin

Sim said there are several factors for the shortage, among them a low subsidy paid to poultry farmers, and the government’s inability to help farmers facing difficulties.

“The government set a ceiling price of 37 sen for ex-farm eggs. The cost of producing one egg is 43 sen, and the government subsidy is only three sen. Farmers lose three sen per egg, so they have to scale down their supply to cut their losses,” he said.

The government’s anti-inflation “jihad” task force had failed to allocate an appropriate subsidy for farmers, he said.

Sim alleged that 80 egg farms had ceased operations because the government had failed to help them sustain their business.

“When food supply is low, the government should find ways to protect these farms to ensure they are not negatively affected, but the government failed to save their business,” he said.

In July, the livestock farmers’ federation had asked the government to provide a subsidy of eight sen per chicken egg to help sustain the egg farming business and ensure national food security.

Since July 1, the government has fixed the ceiling price at 45 sen each for Grade A chicken eggs, 43 sen for Grade B and 41 sen for Grade C. - FMT