Malaysia Government Bans Export of Live Chickens and Processed Foods from the 1st
Major Importers like Singapore and Japan Face Significant Impact
On the 31st (local time), chickens were crouching at a poultry farm in Temerloh, Pahang, Malaysia. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Malaysia recently halted exports of all chicken-related products, from live chickens to chicken meat, nuggets, and sausages, amid the so-called "chicken crisis." The surge in chicken prices caused by rising feed costs due to the Ukraine conflict has led to a shortage.
On the 2nd, Bernama News Agency and others reported that the Malaysian government announced a ban on the export of all poultry products, including live poultry, chilled and frozen meat, chicken sausages, nuggets, and patties, the day before.
Recently in Malaysia, chicken prices have soared since February due to rising feed costs caused by the Ukraine situation, resulting in a shortage. Poultry farmers reduced chicken feed, causing poor chick growth, and some farms closed as they could not bear the feed costs. Additionally, collusion among large corporations to fix chicken prices has been detected, and authorities are currently investigating.
The Malaysian government introduced a price ceiling on February 5th, limiting chicken meat sales to a maximum of 8.9 ringgit per kilogram (approximately 2,530 KRW), but in reality, prices are being sold at around twice that amount. Consequently, the Malaysian government announced on the 23rd of last month that it would indefinitely suspend chicken meat exports, which amount to 3.6 million chickens per month, starting from the 1st of this month.
This is expected to significantly impact countries importing chicken from Malaysia, such as Brunei, Hong Kong, and Japan. In particular, Singapore, which shares a land border with Malaysia, has been sourcing one-third of its chicken demand from Malaysia. Singaporean chicken restaurant operators expressed concerns that chilled meat prices could rise by up to 30%, and the Singapore government has advised switching to frozen chicken and other meats as ingredients. Famous "chicken rice" eateries in Singapore, popular among locals, stated that frozen chicken tastes inferior, and they plan to limit sales and introduce pork and seafood dishes.
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