KUALA LUMPUR: The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry has issued a directive to wholesalers and retailers to hold engagement sessions with chicken breeders in localities that recorded a price hike in poultry meat.
Its minister Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi said this new approach aims to address the continuous rise in the price of chickens.
"This approach will allow traders to check the prices of items and the purchase cost to get a more reasonable profit margin.
"Furthermore, this move will also remind poultry traders not to simply increase the price at any level of the supply chain.
"Hopefully, traders at all levels of the (supply) chain maintain good business ethics and assist the government to ensure the price of chickens remain stable without a continuous and drastic increase.
"If traders refuse to cooperate on this new approach, strict action will be taken against them, including issuing maximum compounds and/or charging them in court," he said in a statement today.
Nanta said, his ministry will also discuss with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAFI) to ensure other primary factors such as the price of imported chicken feed as well as the price of chicken breeds and baby chicks that influence chicken prices at the output level.
The ministry, he said, is not planning to introduce additional price control measures other than the Festive Season Maximum Price Control Scheme (SHMMP).
However, he warned that the ministry will not hesitate to do so if prices of items continue to skyrocket unreasonably or if there are cartels found manipulating the prices along the supply chain.
Nanta assured that the ministry is continuously monitoring the prices of items through over 1,000 price monitoring officers who record the daily prices of goods and over 2,200 enforcement officers who conduct daily inspections to prevent profiteering.
"Based on the monitoring of the wholesale price on Sept 10, the average price of standard chicken (cleaned) at the national level is RM8.83/kg.
"In the Peninsular, the average price of standard chicken (cleaned) is RM8.78/kg and ranges between RM5.99/kg to RM11.00/kg," he said.
Wet markets, he said, are the ones selling chickens at prices above RM9.00/kg with the highest price being RM11.00/kg at Pasar Besar Raub in Pahang.
Supermarkets and hypermarkets, he said, still offered a reasonable price for standard chicken (cleaned) with Tesco/Lotus supermarkets nationwide selling the item at the lowest price of RM5.99/kg.
"Besides that, Giant, Mydin and Econsave supermarkets still sell chickens between RM7.39 and RM7.99/kg.
"Consumers are advised to wisely choose the place and time to purchase chickens at reasonable prices.
"In Sabah, the average price of standard chicken (cleaned) is RM11.33/kg with the highest price being RM11.80/kg at the Gentingmas Mall in Sandakan while the lowest price was RM10.90/kg at Pasar Basah Sibuga, Batu 8 in Sandakan.
"In Sarawak, the average price of standard chicken (cleaned) is RM8.56/kg with the highest price being RM9.80/kg at the Central Market in Sarikei while the lowest price was RM7.50/kg at the Everwin Supermarket in Mukah," he said.
Nanta said, the ministry's enforcement operations had led to 208 written notices served to traders, profiteering involving five items and two investigation papers opened under Section 14 (1) of the Price Control Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 and one under Section 21(5) of the same Act.
"Initial analysis revealed that the prices of primary ingredients for chicken feed, which are soy, corn and palm oil had increased several times this year.
"Soy and corn are items imported from other producer countries. The ministry has also engaged with industry players, especially chicken producers and suggested for breeders to cooperate by not increasing the price of chicks drastically within a short period to prevent price hikes at the wholesale and retail levels for now," he said.
Nanta also advised consumers to use the Price Catcher application to check and compare prices of essential items, including chicken that is sold at nearby premises or within a 10km radius.