Poultry farmers seek support from Malaysians
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/06/18/poultry-farmers-seek-support-from-malaysians#close
POULTRY farmers are pleading with the public to consume more chicken in order to save the farming industry after sales plummeted following the announcement of the national lockdown, Sin Chew Daily reported.
According to honorary president of the Malaysian Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Associations, Kwei Yew Tong, poultry sales fell by 30% after the public was no longer allowed to dine in at restaurants.
As supply of chickens far outstripped demand, prices have fallen to just RM3.80 per kilogramme, which is RM1.80 less than the cost of production.
Kwei revealed that on average, Malaysian consumers purchase around 1.6 million chickens, or 3.52 million kilogrammes of chicken, every day.
“As we are losing RM1.80 per kilogramme, farmers across the country lose up to RM6.34 million per day. In just a month, losses would rack up to nearly RM200mil, ” he said.
Kwei pointed out that many small-time farmers will not be able to continue incurring losses and are expected to close down in August or September.
