According to Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Mohamad Sabu, a short-term strategy to ensure there is enough supply of eggs in the domestic market is by importing eggs to resolve the supply shortage.
Several foreign sources for chicken egg imports have been identified in a bid to immediately accommodate a high domestic demand, he added.
“Chicken eggs were the most popular protein source for Malaysians, with 968 million chicken eggs consumed every month,” he was quoted as saying.
The ministry of agriculture would ensure that imported eggs were free of diseases, with importers adhering to set procedures, “with zero compromises”, according to Mohamad Sabu.
He also stressed that his ministry wanted to make sure that there are no disruptions to the domestic egg supply.
“The need to import the eggs from foreign sources will be reviewed once the supply of chicken eggs has stabilised,” he was quoted as saying.
He also assured local egg producers that the ministry did not intend to pressure them to import eggs.
The newly-minted Minister also said the secretary-general of his department had been tasked with studying the impact of imports on the local egg industry.
He also said that Agrobank has also been asked to come up with suggestions to help suppliers and smallholders remain competitive in the egg industry.
