No more eggs from India, Thailand

 

Agriculture and food security minister Mohamad Sabu says the government is committed to developing the domestic egg industry.

PETALING JAYA: Chicken egg supplies from India and Thailand have ceased, agriculture and food security minister Mohamad Sabu said.

He said the earlier move to allow imports from both countries was to supplement the domestic demand for eggs.

“This was also to meet any additional demand or a sudden shortage in supply.

“The ministry maintains that locally sourced eggs will remain a priority,” he said in a written reply to Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) in the Dewan Rakyat.

Mohamad said there had been no import of eggs from India since January.

While there has been no record of eggs coming in from Thailand, he said imports from the country were based on a “business-to-business” decision.

Wee had asked about the government’s justification for importing eggs as well as why the ministry was not prioritising local egg suppliers to prevent an outflow of the ringgit.

Mohamad said the ministry was keen on providing a varied source of eggs and supply nationwide.

“No subsidies will be given for eggs imported from other countries.

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“We are committed to developing the local egg industry and will engage with the Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Associations of Malaysia to get its views on the issue,” he said.

On June 8, Mohamad told the Dewan Rakyat that prices of eggs and chicken would be floated from July 1.

However, the next day, he said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had agreed that the provision of subsidies and price control over chicken and egg prices would continue after July 1.

He said this decision was made to ensure the welfare of the people would continue to be safeguarded by the government.

In February, the government had said that subsidising chicken eggs until the end of June would cost the government RM1.28 billion.

The current retail ceiling price for standard chicken is RM9.40/kg, while the price of eggs is: Grade A (45 sen/egg), Grade B (43 sen/egg) and Grade C (41 sen/egg) in the peninsula.

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In Langkawi, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan, the maximum price for both items will differ according to the respective zones and districts. - FMT