KUCHING: The fresh chicken meat sector here has gone haywire with the stakeholders seeming to point fingers at each other.
TAN: High prices of feed did not help the situation.
A walk through Satok Market yesterday saw fresh chickens being sold at RM9.50 per kg, and a trader who wanted to be identified only as ‘Nurul’ said blame should be heaped on the supply-demand equation.
She claimed that the shortage of chickens hit about a week ago and all traders at Satok were forced to hike prices.
“What worries all of us now is that our suppliers might temporarily stop supplying chickens to us. When this happens, the price will skyrocket,” she opined.
Perniagaan Ayam Segar Matang manager Jipon Ahe said supplies had gone down so badly that sometimes only 20 per cent of orders could be fulfilled.
“For example, out of an order for 10 baskets (each one contains some 60kg of fresh chicken meat), only two baskets could be delivered,” he said.
Jipon lamented that the suppliers were tight-lipped as to why they could not meet their clients’ demands.
“Due to this problem, most chicken traders here had to shorten their operating hours from 7am to 2pm, compared to 7am to 8pm previously,” he said.
Central Cold Storage Kuching (CCK) store manager Jessie Tan, on the other hand, said CCK had to hike prices to cushion the increasing cost of poultry feeds.
“We had to increase the price by about 40 sen as poultry feeds now costs more. At the same time, we only get half of the amount we ordered. For example, out of 100 orders made, only 50 will be received,” said Tan.
Meanwhile, consumer Dayang Faizatul Rani told The Borneo Post that the relevant ministries and departments must act quickly to solve the problem.
“We, the consumers, are already up to our neck trying to contain the rising cost of living. Please do not burden us with more problems,” said Faizatul.
She added that as a temporary measure, her family had resolved to slash their consumption of chickens.
Another consumer, Hardi Wasli, when met at Stutong Wet Market, said stern action should be taken against traders and suppliers who were trying to take advantage of the situation to fleece customers.
“Hopefully, the situation will normalise by next week. We hope that this situation is just a temporary one,” he added.
Ministry of Trade, Consumerism and Cooperatives (KPDNKK) state director Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman, when contacted, said a meeting had been conducted with all branch heads in the state to formulate a solution.
“We are not implementing the price control mechanism at the moment. This is because it is only applicable one week before and one week after the festive celebration,” said Uzir.
Assistant Minister of Agriculture Datuk Mong Dagang, when contacted, said he was not aware of any shortage in the supply of fresh chickens.