SCARCITY: MDTCC enforcement officer seeks explanation from a chicken vendor on the market shortage.
SIBU: The price of chicken wings has sky rocketed to RM16 per kg in Kanowit as the shortage of chicken now begins to affect even the rural folk.
Alarms rang when a consumer complained of the pricey chicken wings there, saying at that price, it
was beyond the reach of those in the lower income bracket.
“We are daily paid workers and if the price of essentials have become so high, how can we afford them anymore. Our pay is not much and we’re already at our wits’ end to place food on the table,” he grimaced.
When contacted, the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism (MDTCC) Sibu branch chief Balraj Singh said: “We have dispatched a team of enforcement officers to Kanowit to investigate the claim and would not hesitate to mete out stern actions on errant traders.”
Balraj warned that they would enforce the new Price Control and Anti Profiteering Act 2011 on unscrupulous traders, which comes with a hefty fine.
He assured that their officers were constantly on the ground to keep tabs of the market situation.
Meanwhile, when interviewed earlier, Sibu Livestock Farmers Association chairman Ling Chi Kiong noted chicken wings was a favourite among locals here, which perhaps, is also causative of the current shortage.
He recalled that demand for chicken wings soared rapidly during Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.
Asked why chicken wings were a favourite of people here, Ling said: “That I am not too sure. But I know people just crave for it.”
Meanwhile, prices of chicken had also climbed due to shortage in supply as demand continued to surge.
Ling nevertheless, reckoned that the current pricing of chicken between RM8.40 and RM9 per kg is still reasonable and within the reach of the masses.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim was quoted as saying that they were working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry on the replenishment of chickens, which among others, included weighing the possibility of importing chickens from authorised countries.
An observation at Sibu Central Market yesterday morning, noted chicken vendors were set to close for the day as early as 10am.