SABAK BERNAM, Feb 23 — The shortage of chicken feed, namely maize in Brazil is among the causes of the substantial hike in the price of the goods, said the Deputy Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI) Minister II Datuk Dr Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh.
He said he was confident the price of chicken would go down after the Covid-19 pandemic eased because the issue was the price of chicken feed.
“We did not raise the price of chicken feed, it is the international price from Brazil, which is facing a shortage of maize, and we are importing maize from there.
“Hence, when there is a rise in global demand, the prices of chicken feed and chicken in all countries go up and it is not just us. The price of chicken in Jordan is about RM18 a kilogramme.
“The hike in other countries is much worse than us and their governments can’t afford to give subsidy,” he said.
He was talking to reporters after visiting the Large Scale Smart Paddy Field (SMART SBB) programme in Sungai Burung, Sekinchan, here yesterday.
Nik Muhammad Zawawi said Malaysia was among the countries which provided subsidies to the people, after the Covid-19 pandemic took place and when the country was hit by an extraordinary flood recently, as it could still afford to do so.
“Many other countries give up because they cannot afford to provide assistance to the people,” he added.
— Bernama
