50% drop in supply of pork products

KOTA KINABALU: An apparent short supply of pork in Sabah has caused a decline in the production of pork products by nearly 50 per cent.

Production of pork jerky and pork meatballs has been slashed by half, whereas producers of kou rou (a classic steamed pork belly and yam slice dish), chun juan (a meat roll wrapped with a thin layer of egg) and barbecued (BBQ) pork have also seen reduced production due to the supply shortage.

Kapitan Chong Kian Fah, who has been distributing and retailing pork, producing pork jerky and meatballs for 30 years, said the supply of pork meat is insufficient to meet the demand nowadays.

As demand for pork increases, Kota Kinabalu and other towns in Sabah are faced with shortage of pork, he said, adding that some pork retailers were allocated less supply.

“In the past, the pigs we purchased from farms weighed between 140 and 150 kilogrammes (kg). However, some of the pigs we buy now only weigh between 70 and 80 kg due to limited supply. This causes a shortage of pork in the market,” he said.

Taking his business as an example, Chong said he does not have much pork left to sell at his stall everyday after supplying to long-term customers such as restaurants and food outlets.

“Normal household customers who come to the stall often find that the pork is sold out,” he said.

Apart from supplying fresh pork, Chong also produces pork jerky and meatballs under the brand Mee Fook Yuan. However, Chong is also facing pork shortage to make pork jerky and meatball as most of his supply has gone to the restaurants.

“At present, my pork jerky factory has to cease production every two or three days while waiting for fresh supply of pork,” he lamented.

At the same time, the production of chun juan and meatballs has also declined as a result of pork shortage.

Many stalls selling chun juan and pork meatballs in the central market would have sold out their products by around 9 am.

Land View BBQ Duck Farm stall owner at Bornion Centre also lamented on the pork shortage.

“We produce BBQ pork based on the quantity we get from the supplier,” he said, adding that he has revised the price of BBQ pork from RM68 per kg to RM75 per kg ever since the price of raw pork was increased by RM2 per kg last July.

Despite the shortage of pork and pricier raw materials, he has decided to maintain the prices of his products.

Meanwhile, a pork retailer, who operates more than 10 stalls in Kota Kinabalu, said the supply of pork in the market had dropped by 30 to 40 percent.

Even if the pig farms were to increase their production, he said the problem could not be resolved in the short run as piglets would need time to grow.

He said one of his stalls used to rake in about RM5,000 revenue daily but has now dropped to RM2,000 to RM3,000 due to limited supply.

Nevertheless, the retailer said prices of pork have been maintained at his stalls since July 11 last year.