September 6, 2022

 

Malaysian public told to come forward with information on chicken cartels

 

 

The Malaysian government has called on the public to report information on chicken cartels or parties that are rationing supplies of chicken to push prices of the meat upward, Free Malaysia Today reported.

 

This includes supplying specific details, if any, on the alleged cartels that are regulating the supply of chicken and driving up prices above the current ceiling of MYR 9.40 (~US$2.09; MYR 1 = US$0.22) per kg.

 

Five cartels were charged with monopolising the market worth MYR 10 billion (~US$2.2 billion) annually in a report published in local newspaper Utusan Malaysia.

 

Alexander Nanta Linggi, the Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, urged the public to file reports with the appropriate authorities.

 

He called on anyone who might have information to come forward and assist in finding a resolution to the long-standing problem.

 

According to the report, a cartel for chickens was attempting to control the sale of chicks to farmers in order to drive up the cost of chickens to MYR 11 (~US$2.45) per kg.

 

Nanta said that his ministry would wait for the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) to make an official statement regarding the situation.

 

Five chicken feed millers were found to have engaged in anti-competitive agreements and coordinated practises in August, according to MyCC, to drive up the cost of poultry feed.

 

According to MyCC CEO Iskandar Ismail, between early 2020 and mid-2022, these companies raised the price of poultry feed, which primarily consisted of soybean meal and corn.

 

Claims of chicken cartels were rejected by the Federation of Livestock Farmers' Associations of Malaysia as being illogical because farmers would not be suffering losses if they existed.

 

-      Free Malaysia Today