Malaysia, one of the region’s leading exporters of poultry meat, is now relying on imported chicken eggs to meet its short term domestic demand.
Its Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security said that it has identified several sources for the supply to meet the country’s monthly consumption of 968 million eggs. Eggs are a staple diet to most Malaysians as it provides them with an affordable source of protein-rich food.
The current government’s aim is to reduce the cost of living and this includes finding ways to reduce the price of food products including eggs. Mohamad Sabu, the Minister for Agriculture said that the initiative to import chicken eggs was not to add pressure on the local chicken egg industry operators but rather to ensure that the supply in the country was not interrupted as well as to look after the welfare of the people.
The need to import will only be reviewed once the supply of chicken eggs has stabilised and has also asked Agriculture and Food Security Department to look at the impact of importing chicken eggs from outside sources to the existing local industry. In addition, the Minister has also requested for Agrobank to submit proposals to help local SME suppliers to remain competitive in the industry.
The main goal of the government is to ensure that the country’s chicken egg supply will be stable again at competitive prices. And this can only be achieved with the cooperation of various parties involved in the trade.
