Minister: Enough livestock for Aidiladha
SERDANG: The supply of livestock for the Aidiladha celebration is enough to meet demand, said Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Salahuddin Ayub yesterday.
Salahuddin said based on Veterinary Services Department (DVS) statistics, the availability of cattle — local and imported — stood at 50,125 animals, with goats and sheep at 42,160.
He said for cows, apart from local suppliers, some were imported from Thailand and Australia.
“For goats, the animals are mostly imported from Australia and Indonesia.”
However, he said, the ministry had to take into consideration the Export Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) of the Australian government, which restricted imports of cattle and goats from the country from July 7 to Aidiladha day.
He said DVS had approved the licences of 53 private slaughterhouses in Peninsular Malaysia for korban purposes.
He said a report on the rebranding of the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) would be ready today and he would attend a briefing.
The briefing will be held by a special committee formed by the ministry and led by its secretarygeneral, Datuk Mohd Sallehhuddin Hassan.
“I think that before the end of the year, we can at least come up with a new business model that can contribute up to 30 per cent of the local meat supply, which is our target.”
NFC was an initiative by the previous government to boost the nation’s beef self-sufficiency level.
However, the project was embroiled in controversy when its executive chairman, Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail, was investigated and charged with misappropriating RM49.7 million from NFC.
He was acquitted in 2015.