PUTRAJAYA – The national chicken supply will not be affected by the two-day closure of a chicken farm in Jasin this weekend.
Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP), Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said, the ministry received an explanation letter from the management of that company, stating that the closure is due to the growth delay of chickens.
According to him, the explanation showed that their action had nothing to do with the cartel trying to rake extra profit.
“The company informed about their temporary operation cease due to the growth delay of chickens.
“The chickens in their factory are only about 1.1 kilogramme, compared to the 1.8 kilogramme weight in the market. It would create problems for the consumers.
“The company also wanted to protect their image and reputation. It is not a permanent closure. It will only be closed for two days and it will not affect the supply in the market,” he said in a news conference today.
Alexander also said that only one chicken farm is involved with the operation closure.
At the same time, Nanta also said that a special taskforce was set up by the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) and they are still investigating the chicken sales issued under Section 4 of the Competition Act 2010.
“The investigation will take some time but it will be presented to me and later, the Cabinet. By July, we hope to have proposals to overcome this issue,” he said.
Meanwhile, KPDNHEP will monitor the complaints of poultrymen on the additional charge to cut chickens so that no one would take advantage on the unreasonable charge.
“We can accept reasonable fee for cutting chicken but if it is over RM1 for each kilogramme, it is too much for the consumers,” he said.
According to him, the additional charges to cut the chicken is not included in the price control scheme.
Although the fee is not included in the price control, the government needs to monitor to ensure that the chicken price does not exceed the RM8.90 ceiling. -MalaysiaGazette
