KUALA LUMPUR: Consumers' Association of Penang (CAP) slammed the move to lift subsidies and price controls for chicken starting from Nov 1, saying consumers would be victimised under the floating price scheme.
CAP education officer N.V. Subbarow said his survey at the Bayan Baru morning wet market for the past two days showed there is insufficient chicken and eggs supply.
"All the sellers are waiting for the ceiling price to be removed to set a new high price.
"Under the floating price scheme, the chicken price would be controlled by wholesalers and traders.
"They would just set the price as they like, and customers would be the ones that suffer from the high price," he told the New Straits Times when contacted.
Subbarow urged the government to continue to control chicken prices, as lifting ceiling prices for chicken will cause domino effects on food prices.
"Chicken is one of the most consumed foods for most Malaysians. Also, there are dozens of chicken-related foods offered at the market.
"The same goes for eggs. It is one of the children's favourite food.
"All the while, it has been a tradition that prices go up and never come down unless the government intervene," he said.
Subbarow questioned the timing for the discontinuation of the chicken subsidy.
"Deepavali is in less than 12 days. The price increase will not bring a joyful festival of lights," he said.
He suggested that consumers stop purchasing chicken if the price increases to an unbearable level.
"CAP advise the consumers to protect their rights in such a situation. Do not buy chicken if it is too pricy.
"We could replace chicken with nuts or grains as our source of protein; it is good for children too, also, relatively cheaper," he said.
Subbarow commented on Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu's announcement earlier today that subsidies and price controls for chicken would be discontinued from Nov 1, while egg subsidies remain.
The retail ceiling price for grade A eggs is 45 sen each, grade B (43 sen) and grade C (41 sen).
Mat Sabu was reported as saying that the decision was made after considering the current supply and price trends.
The cost of chicken production has begun to stabilise, contributing to the current market prices being below the ceiling price of RM9.40 per kg set by the government.
He added that the government has spent RM3.8 billion on egg and chicken subsidies since February last year.
When presenting the 2024 Budget on Oct 13, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government was considering floating the price of chicken and eggs as the supplies of both items were now stable.