Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

Dr. TanDY

Chicken Prices Slashed By Up To 95 Sen Per Kg

Source: Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 (Bernama) -- The prices of chicken from farm to retail have been slashed by between 70 sen and 95 sen a kilogramme with immediate effect by producers to check falling sales.

The Federation of Livestock Farmers Associations of Malaysia, which announced the price cuts on Friday, said the industry was losing nearly RM2 million a day since consumers began giving up eating chicken meat after the recent outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in the peninsula.

The federation, which represents 5,000 breeders, said the ex-farm price has been cut from RM3.20 a kg to RM2.50 (ceiling price set by the government: RM4) and wholesale price from RM3.70 to RM3.00 a kg (RM4.50).

The price of wholesale dressed chicken has dropped to RM3.60 from RM4.45 a kg (RM5.40); retail chicken to RM3.50 from RM4.20 (RM5); dressed retail chicken with shank, head, liver and gizzard to RM4.20 from RM5.05 (RM6); and dressed retail chicken without shank, head, liver and gizzard to RM4.70 from RM5.65 (RM6.70).

The H5N1 virus outbreak was first detected in the Federal Territory here on Feb 20 when 40 "kampung" chicken (free range chicken) were found dead.

Further cases were then discovered in Perak and Penang.

The federation's broiler unit chairman, Yap Kim Kwah, said the steep drop in chicken sales caused a glut in the market.

"After the cases of bird flu in Perak and Penang, our members agreed to reduce production by 30 per cent from the normal 1.2 million birds per day," he told Bernama.

Yap said the situation could have been worse if the government had not acted quickly to stop the spread of the disease.

He praised the Veterinary Services Department and other agencies for taking proactive measures to cull birds in the disease outbreak areas.

"They are very effective and transparent in handling the issue. This has helped the industry in terms of bringing back consumer confidence," he said.