Solve chicken supply problems, not just pricing, says Mydin boss
Prominent businessman Ameer Ali Mydin said the situation would be unchanged with the new ceiling price as long as there were supply shortages. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: Prominent businessman Ameer Ali Mydin has scoffed at the newly announced ceiling price for chicken, saying it made no difference given that problems in the supply chain remained.
Earlier today, the government announced the new ceiling price for chicken, with prices capped at RM9.40 per kg from Friday. Currently, standard whole chickens are capped at RM8.90 per kg.
Ameer, who is the managing director of Mydin hypermarkets, said the government must prioritise the supply of chickens in the market over pricing.
“With the new ceiling price, it’s very unlikely that the availability of chicken in the market will improve.
“The situation will be unchanged with the new ceiling price so long as we continue to have supply shortages,” he told FMT.
However, Jeffrey Ng, adviser to the Malaysian livestock federation, said that as a consumer, he was thankful that the government had set a new ceiling price.
“I do appreciate it because it’s much more affordable compared to other countries like the US, where chicken prices are about US$3.50 (about RM15.40) per kg,” Ng told FMT.
But as a farmer, he said, he would like more clarity from the government on the cost structure and subsidy mechanisms, which have yet to be announced.
“At this point, we only know the ceiling price. So, we have to wait for them to clarify.”
Ng, however, noted that farmers now had more confidence in the government, as they had made it easier for farmers to apply for subsidies.
“They have resolved a lot of issues. We can now do online submissions, and the number of documents required has been reduced from 13 to just three.
“Just in the last round of approvals last week, around 1,750 applications were approved.”
PETALING JAYA: Prominent businessman Ameer Ali Mydin has scoffed at the newly announced ceiling price for chicken, saying it made no difference given that problems in the supply chain remained.
Earlier today, the government announced the new ceiling price for chicken, with prices capped at RM9.40 per kg from Friday. Currently, standard whole chickens are capped at RM8.90 per kg.
Ameer, who is the managing director of Mydin hypermarkets, said the government must prioritise the supply of chickens in the market over pricing.
“With the new ceiling price, it’s very unlikely that the availability of chicken in the market will improve.
“The situation will be unchanged with the new ceiling price so long as we continue to have supply shortages,” he told FMT.
However, Jeffrey Ng, adviser to the Malaysian livestock federation, said that as a consumer, he was thankful that the government had set a new ceiling price.
“I do appreciate it because it’s much more affordable compared to other countries like the US, where chicken prices are about US$3.50 (about RM15.40) per kg,” Ng told FMT.
But as a farmer, he said, he would like more clarity from the government on the cost structure and subsidy mechanisms, which have yet to be announced.
“At this point, we only know the ceiling price. So, we have to wait for them to clarify.”
Ng, however, noted that farmers now had more confidence in the government, as they had made it easier for farmers to apply for subsidies.
“They have resolved a lot of issues. We can now do online submissions, and the number of documents required has been reduced from 13 to just three.
“Just in the last round of approvals last week, around 1,750 applications were approved.”
We have "economic experts" including "Professors" advising the government who think that price controls are the solution, not recognising or ignorant that in an environment of fast rising input costs, artificial restrictions on market pricing just serve to restrict or even block the supply.
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