March 14, 2023

Malaysian government says no public funds involved in egg imports

Malaysia's Agriculture and Food Security Ministry said no public funds are involved in the special approval for the temporary import of eggs into the country, with any expenditure and risks fully borne by the importing company, MalaysiaNow reported.

The ministry said subsides are not provided to imported chicken eggs.

The permitted companies, J&E Advance Tech Sdn Bhd and an egg exporting business in India that previously supplied eggs to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, were given a temporary approval to import eggs into Malaysia that will last until June 30, 2023.

The Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) and the Veterinary Services Department (DVS) have put in place controls on the entry of imported chicken eggs at the country's entry points, according to the ministry, to ensure that consumers receives imported eggs that are safe and disease-free.

The controls include a hold, test, and release (HTR) test that includes PCR tests for the detection of avian influenza, the Newcastle disease virus, and salmonella bacteria.

Only eggs that pass the HTR test are permitted into Malaysia. No chicken eggs from outside the country have yet failed this test.

The ministry's analysis of DVS data showed the government's initiatives to address the country's ongoing egg shortage since January have begun to show progress.

The data showed Malaysia had an egg shortage in October 2022 of 118,272,070, in November 2022 of 157,543,291, and in December 2022 of 1,282,094. This increased to 160,649,928 eggs in January this year.

-      MalaysiaNow