Ministry: Ample supply of eggs for festive seasons.
Ministry assures consumers of ample supply
NIBONG TEBAL: All those pies, egg rolls, eggnog and whatnot you are planning to serve at Christmas or year-end parties?
“Yes, there will be enough eggs for Christmas, New Year and also Chinese New Year,” said Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Sim Tze Tzin.
He assured Malaysians that egg prices would remain “normal”.
“We will not have to import for the coming festivals as we will have ample supply locally.
“The recent egg price increase has been resolved after discussions with the entrepreneurs, and the price will be stable,” he told reporters after visiting a poultry farm in Changkat here on Friday.
Sim attributed the recent egg price increase in the northern region to several factors, including a decrease in poultry farms from 98 to 79 in 2016.
“These farms may be small but it was enough to impact egg production.
“Egg supply was further impacted last month when a large farm in Perak was placed under quarantine and instructed to stop production while the chickens were checked
for disease.
“Luckily, the chickens were given the all-clear, and the farm was allowed to continue production,” he said.
Sim said chickens in Penang had also been falling sick due to the weather, and this had caused a 70% drop in egg production.
The ministry, he said, needed to help the small poultry farms as they
could not survive due to many factors.
“Development has reached the Seberang Prai area, and these poultry farms are forced to relocate following complaints from residents about the smell, among others.
“They were summoned and finally pressured to stop their operation,” he said.