KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 — “Every time a festive period rolls around, it is the same thing. For one reason or another, there will always be a shortage of chicken. Honestly, many chicken vendors are fed up with it, but this is our bread and butter. We do what we can with what we have.”
“We need to make ends meet too, so when there is a shortage of chickens, we increase the prices to make sure we can pay all our bills. And when that happens, the government comes in and sets a ceiling — and we lose from there,” he toldThe federal government set a ceiling price of standard chicken to RM8.90 per kilogram. It took effect on February 5 and will last until June 5.
Taking notice of the regular pattern of chicken shortages during the festive season, Usman — who has been selling chicken for over 30 years — always makes a contingency plan, but sticking to it has never been easy. come Aidilfitri. Other years, I don’t manage to save enough. The chicken and egg shortages do not just affect poultrymen, but also consumers as the increase in chicken prices eats into household budgets.
“I will usually buy two chickens because my children’s favourite dish is my chicken curry — so I’ll make it twice a week. But nowadays, I can only budget for one,” she toldThings are even harder for 32-year-old Nazmi Idris, who owns and runs a catering company. outside Dato’ Keramat Market, Nazmi said that the shortage of chickens has affected his already-fragile business, which is still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.