The Cabinet had agreed to provide a subsidy to chicken farmers of RM0.60/kg by taking into account the price of live chickens at the farm at RM5.90/kg and the retail price of standard round chickens of RM8.90/kg.
This will also be extended to eggs, where the Government will provide a subsidy of RM0.05/per egg regardless of the category. This comes as the rising cost of poultry has reached an alarming due to farmers facing a tough environment maintaining the business, following the increase in costs, especially food costs which cover 70% of production costs in addition to logistics costs, labor costs, utility costs and the cost of medicines After a series of consultations including with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries the Government decided to step in with the subsidy in its efforts to alleviate the burden of farmers.
The subsidy period will be from 5 February 2022 to 4 June 2022, the total estimated financial implications for the Government to implement the provision of chicken and egg subsidies nationwide for this four-month period will be RM528.52 million. MAFI through DVS will also hold continuous engagement with the industry to ensure that the poultry and egg industry remains sustainable and operates at full scale to ensure production is sufficient to meet local needs.
The intervention is expected to re -stabilise supply and ensure Malaysian will be able to purchase chickens and eggs at affordable prices
