June 1, 2022
Poultry farms in Malaysia expediting shipments to Singapore before export ban
Poultry farms in Malaysia are shipping as many chickens as possible to Singapore before June 1, 2022 ban on poultry exports is enforced, The Straits Times reported.
Malaysian operators have increased their work hours and delivery trucks to make the daily road journey across the borders to fulfil growing demand for fresh chickens in the republic, which has emptied several stores there of stock.
The newspaper visited a farm in Johor and discovered that the chickens to be exported for the Singapore market were just 33 days old, compared to 40 days prior.
An unnamed farmer said the number of lorries shipping chickens to Singapore has climbed from two to six per day, with each lorry carrying 6,000 chicks.
Another unnamed farmer said even if the ban is overturned, if Singaporeans find alternatives, they may not buy Malaysian poultry. The farmer also said they will move their entire enterprise to Singapore if they were offered space to farm hens.
The same farmer refuted charges that he was stockpiling chickens in order to generate a phoney demand in Malaysia.
Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri said chicken exports will be halted from June 1 until prices and supply in the country stabilise.
He also stated that the government will look at developing a chicken buffer stock and optimising the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries' cold storage facilities.
Other participants in the poultry sector blamed the chicken scarcity on a labour deficit, rising input expenses, animal sickness, and bad weather.
The Singapore Food Agency has approved only 115 farms in peninsular Malaysia to sell their chickens there, with 91 of them in Johor state alone.
Singapore imported around 34% of its chicken supply from Malaysia last year, or close to 73,000 tonnes.
Brazil (48%) and the US (8%) were the island nation's other major sources of poultry in the same year, but these were frozen meat.
- The Straits Times
