Malaysia (Commonwealth Union)_ Malaysia intends to overcome chicken and egg shortages by lifting price limitations in June and by growing grain maize locally to balance the increase in the cost of imported poultry feed. According to Mohamad Sabu, minister of agriculture and food security, his ministry will monitor the impact of market forces on retail pricing if price controls are repealed. He stated, “Maybe from May, we will start studying if we can float the prices – whether prices will be maintained or go up very fast”.

At present, the maximum retail price for ordinary chicken in Peninsular Malaysia is RM9.40 (S$2.80) per kilogram, while the maximum price for Grade A eggs is 45 sen. Several farmers and merchants claimed that they were compelled to sell their chicken at inflated rates in violation of the law. Many farmers also seek to expand exports in order to obtain higher prices, hence limiting the local supply. Price limitations have impacted the market and resulted in export prohibitions, while farmers and producers are further constrained by high feed costs that government subsidies do nothing to alleviate.
Malaysia seeks to cut its dependency on imported maize by 50 percent and is conducting an experiment to grow grain corn in the northern state of Perlis. According to Datuk Seri Mohamad, “This year, we have started to plant grain corn. God willing for the future, we hope that grain corn can be planted in Malaysia”. Currently, over 100 percent of grain maize is imported from Argentina and Brazil, and this has been affected by the global price increase caused by the Ukraine conflict, which has led to an increased price of poultry and eggs.
As a result of this inflation, economic experts and industry participants asked the government to eliminate subsidies and allow the prices of chicken and eggs to float. According to them, some price regulations, such as ceiling pricing, have led to a supply shortfall since they are set below costs. According to economist Nungsari Ahmad Radhi, “Eggs and poultry are the cheapest source of protein, and Malaysia is largely self-sufficient in these, but feed for poultry is exclusively imported, hence subjected to… imported inflation”. Diversifying the import sources for animal feed can bring down Malaysia’s reliance on imports, thereby lowering the cost of commodities.