PETALING JAYA: The owner of a poultry supply company fears more problems will arise when the export ban on poultry is lifted, as farmers could bear huge losses.
Baharudin Ahmad of NB Poultry Processing Industries said the lack of response from the government to queries from poultry farmers has caused many to suffer losses because of uncertainty in the market.
He said farmers have now limited chicken production to meet only domestic demand following the export ban on whole chicken from June 1.
The talk that the export ban would be lifted has placed them in a quandary as “most farmers are afraid to raise chickens at this time because they don’t want to have excess poultry”.
“The government has provided no answers on how long the ban will be in place. Chickens intended for export to Singapore are stuck at the farms,” he said.
Baharudin, whose company supplies chicks, chicken feed and medicine to breeders, said the local market has become saturated with chickens previously intended for Singapore.
Lamenting the lack of information and slow decision-making by the government, he called on Putrajaya to provide clarification on the export ban as soon as possible or risk causing further damage to the poultry industry.
Exports of whole chicken have been banned since June 1 to stem the chicken shortage, but confusion arose when later that month, Putrajaya eased the ban, allowing poultry importers abroad to resume getting live premium chickens from Malaysia.
However, domestic trade and consumer affairs minister Alexander Nanta Linggi said on Aug 6 that the government had yet to set a date to lift the ban.
He said the Cabinet had previously discussed the matter, adding that any decision must take into account the interests of all parties involved.– FMT