Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 7:14 pm Post subject: [News] No pork for chang festival

No pork for chang festival

Date: 10 May 2006

KUALA LUMPUR: Chinese celebrating the Dumpling Festival might have to go without their favourite “bak chang” or pork dumpling this year.

This is because more than 3,000 pork sellers nationwide will not be opening shop for four days prior to the May 31 festival to protest against the “continuous” increase in ex-farm prices.

The price reached a record high of RM690 per 100kg on Sunday, compared with RM500 last year. Since January this year, prices have increased four times

National Pork Seller Association chairman Goh Chui Lai said the four-day boycott would start on May 27. The decision was made at an emergency meeting on Sunday night attended by association representatives from all states.

CHANG-ING TIMES: A pork sellers’ strike could mean that the Chinese community might not be enjoying these traditional ‘bak chang’ for the Dumpling Festival this year.

Said Goh: “If we increase prices, consumers will blame us for trying to make more profit.

“If we do not increase prices, we cannot survive. For every 100kg we sell, we make less than RM50. And we have to deduct operational costs.”

Goh said more than 3,000 pork sellers would not open their stalls during the period so that consumers would know that they were not the ones “manipulating” prices.

He said this was the fourth time the Federation of Livestock Farmers Associations of Malaysia had increased ex-farm prices this year.

“Pig farmers are manipulating prices by reducing supply so that they can keep charging higher prices,” he alleged.

However, the Federation’s Pig Unit vice-chairman Sim Ah Hock refuted the claim.

“It is not true that we reduced supply to increase prices. The low supply is because of strict government regulations and also due to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak which affected our stocks,” said Sim.

He said the unit would call for a meeting to discuss the association’s proposed boycott.

“We want to make sure that consumers will able to buy pork for their chang during the coming Dumpling Festival,” he said.

Federation president Datuk Francis Lau gave his assurance that the price of pork would not surpass the current RM6.90 per kg this year.

He added that the federation was not in a position to advise the association to call off its strike.

“Members have been told not to increase pork prices anymore,” he said yesterday, adding that a report on the issue would be sent to the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry next week.

Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk S. Veerasingam said although pork was not a price-controlled item, the ministry could still intervene to ensure the price was reasonable.

He said the ministry would call for a meeting between pork sellers and pig farmers to reach an amicable solution as the current problem between them was affecting consumers.

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 2:56 pm Post subject:

A follow-up from The Star

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12 May 2006

Chinese dailies also reported that the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry might be forced to include pork as a controlled item during festivals if pig farmers and butchers refused to compromise over prices.

The ministry’s parliamentary secretary Hoo Seong Chang said the current high price of pork was due to lack of supply.

“The recent foot-and-mouth disease has affected pig supply, causing the price to go up,” he said.

He added that the ministry would recommend to the Government to allow pork to be imported as a temporary measure until the situation returned to normal.

Hoo was also quoted by Sin Chew Daily as saying that the ministry was forced to intervene for the sake of consumers.