ALOR SETAR: Producing local chicken feed is seen to be critical in reducing the operating costs of poultry farms and stabilising chicken prices in the market, says an expert.
Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) economist Assoc Prof Dr Shazida Jan Mohd Khan said with the move to float the price of chicken, any sudden increase in the prices chicken feed, especially corn and soybeans which were mainly imported due to limited domestic supply, would greatly impact market prices.
She said before the COVID-19 pandemic, the price of a 50-kilogramme bag of feed was only RM85, but had now reached RM135, with the war between Ukraine and Russia also a contributing factor.
According to her, farmers also need to bear various other costs such as medication and farm maintenance, in addition to the difficulty of finding staff to man the farm.
"Consumers are worried about the possibility of price increases due to these factors. Therefore, there needs to be a serious initiative to produce local feed and be able to meet the needs of farmers," she told Bernama.
The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) previously stated that the government might intervene through the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (AKHAP 2011) to ensure that chicken was sold at reasonable prices following the move to end subsidies and float the price of chicken effective Nov 1.
Ceasing the blanket subsidy was aimed at reducing leakages and preventing it from being exploited by undeserving parties.
Commenting further, Shazida Jan said there was an immediate need for investment in research and development (R&D) with solid support from the government to create an ecosystem for the creation and use of the latest technology for local feed production.
According to her, among the resources that can be used are palm kernels that can potentially be processed and used as livestock feed.
Meanwhile, a farmer who supplies fresh chicken in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mazlina Kamarudin said the increase in the cost of poultry farming due to the high price of chicks and feed would cause a reduction in the supply of chicken in the market.
"As a small-scale breeder, I request that the government looks at the prices of chicks and feed, many small breeders do not have chicks and feed...I myself will reduce (the purchase of) chicks if the price is too expensive, to protect the business," she said.
Mazlina also hoped that the chicken price float would continue and not only be put in place when there was a lot of chicken supply in the market, in order to reduce the losses borne by farmers. -- Bernama