The new government ceiling price for chicken and eggs is a win-win situation for all parties, especially farmers and consumers, considering the still unstable market situation.
Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (FOMCA) deputy president Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman said this was because the increase in the ceiling price of chicken and eggs will help farmers cover the cost of poultry and guarantees that buyers will not be burdened with overly high prices.
He said that even though there is an increase in the ceiling price on the two raw materials, it was still at a rate that did not have a big impact on consumers compared to if the price is floated.
“Some say if the price is floated, the price for chicken, for example, may reach RM15 per kg but this (new ceiling price) is not too high to cost consumers that much more.
“For suppliers (breeders) and traders, the (new) ceiling price may be acceptable because it can cover the cost of livestock production, so we (Fomca) hope that in this way (setting ceiling price), there is no issue of reduced chicken production. Instead, it should recover to the usual prices,” he said.
Yesterday, the government decided not to float the price of chicken but continued with the subsidy by setting the standard retail ceiling price of chicken at RM9.40 per kg for Peninsular Malaysia starting tomorrow, while the retail ceiling price of eggs for grade A was set at 45 sen; grade B (43 cents) and grade C (41 sen).
Previously, the maximum retail price of chicken and eggs for Peninsular Malaysia for standard whole chicken was RM8.90 kg and super whole chicken (slaughtered and cleaned without legs, head, liver and gizzard) at RM9.90 per kg; maximum price of grade A eggs was set at 43 sen each, grade B (41 sen) and grade C (39 sen).
