UPDATE (4 Aug, 6.25pm): Quoting a statement by Malaysia’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI), Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported that the chicken export ban will remain, with no end date on the horizon. Addressing the 31 Aug end date, MAFI clarified that they will only stop issuing subsidies to chicken and egg breeders then. The government will continue to monitor the situation before announcing further changes.
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It feels like chickens have been dominating headlines ever since Malaysia announced that it will temporarily halt exports to combat rising prices.
After three months, that restriction will finally come to an end.
Today (4 Aug), authorities announced that the chicken export ban is expected to be lifted at the end of the month.
This comes right after the country claimed that it now has an oversupply of chickens.
Malaysia’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries, Dr Ronald Kiandee, reiterated that the measure was temporary.
He also justified the ban, noting that other countries have also taken protectionist steps whenever there were food stortages.
Speaking to Parliament on Thursday (4 Aug), Dr Kiandee announced that Malaysia’s chicken export ban is expected to end on 31 Aug.
Source: Ayam Norliza
According to The Straits Times (ST), he was responding to Kluang MP Wong Shu Qi’s criticisms of the ban.
Ms Wong had said it was the wrong decision to ban chicken exports as it led to Singapore diversifying its food sources and getting chickens from other countries. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) recently approved Indonesia as an alternative chicken supplier.
As a result, she said that Malaysia has “lost a market” as well as “a customer”, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reports.
However, Dr Kiandee stood by the decision, reiterating that the ban was temporary. He also pointed out that many other countries have taken similar steps to address food shortages.
When conditions are stable all over the country – not just oversupply in a few locations, but all across the country – of course the government will decide to allow exports.
He added that the ban, which began on 1 Jun, has “produced results”.
Earlier this week, Dr Kiandee told parliament that chicken supply levels in the country have stabilised.
In fact, there is an oversupply, with Malaysia producing 106% of its chicken needs.
The end of the ban is surely good news for Malaysia’s chicken breeders, who previously expressed concerns about losing out to other suppliers.
However, we’ll have to wait and see if Singapore resumes trading at pre-export ban levels or starts to lessen its reliance on Malaysia.
In any case, it’s good to know that Singapore will have yet another source of chicken again — having more is always a good thing.
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Featured image adapted from Alexas Fotos on Pexels.
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