Media statement by Dr Ong Kian Ming, the Member of Parliament for Bangi and DAP's spokesperson for international trade and industry on July 29, 2022.
Malaysia’s export ban on chickens has done long-term economic damage to Malaysian farmers as other countries have looked elsewhere for their supply of chickens. When the Malaysian government announced the temporary ban on the export of chickens at the end of May (including live poultry, whole carcasses, chilled and frozen meat, chicken parts and chicken-based products), I had already warned that this short-term measure will harm our chicken products in the long term.
I wrote that ironically, the decision to ban the export of chickens, which may look like a workable short-term solution, will end up hurting local chicken producers and even chicken imports for the following reasons:
Even though this ban was eased in the middle of June, the damage to the industry had already been done. This impact was felt most strongly in Singapore, which imported one-third of its chicken supplies from Malaysia, including almost all of its live chickens.
Private food importers in Singapore immediately announced alternative supply sources of chicken from Thailand. On June 1, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) announced a list of new farms and establishments that could export their chicken products to Singapore, including from Australia, Brazil and Thailand. On June 30, the SFA announced the approval of three establishments in Indonesia to export chicken meat and chicken meat products to Singapore.
More recently, the Indonesian ambassador to Singapore announced the possible setting up of chicken farms in Batam to export live chickens to Singapore.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI) must understand that the path to food security in the country is not only to provide enough supplies for the domestic market, but also be able to produce enough supplies to export to foreign markets. Countries like Thailand and Vietnam can produce more than enough rice for their domestic market because they are also rice-exporting countries. Instead of harming local chicken farmers with short-term policies, such as the export ban, and by putting in price controls that are not reflective of the underlying cost of production, MAFI should be putting in place plans to help our chicken farmers expand their domestic production and access to foreign markets.
When our chicken farmers can earn more from the export market, they would be in a better position to manage prices of chicken and eggs in the domestic market.
Some policy recommendations for MAFI to pursue include:
Strategic thinking, coordination and planning are needed on the part of MAFI and the Malaysian government to prevent further closures from happening, especially since cost pressures on chicken farmers will continue to be present.
Dr Ong Kian Ming
July 29, 2022