KUCHING, June 1: Chicken breeders will no longer receive subsidies starting July 1, 2022.
Instead, the government will distribute the subsidies directly to the people, especially the B40 group.
Prime Minister Dato Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob revealed this in his speech today at the Barisan Nasional (BN) Convention held at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL) in Kuala Lumpur.
“Di Malaysia harga apapun boleh naik, tetapi jangan harga ayam. (In Malaysia, the price of anything can increase, but not the price of chicken.)
“If the price of chicken is allowed to float, it could reach RM12 per kilogramme.
“But in an effort to ensure that the people are not burdened, the government subsidises farmers to keep the price at RM8.90, and for this, the government spent RM720 million,” he said.
He went on to say that many breeders did not claim this subsidy.
“Instead, various issues were revived, and as of July 1, we will no longer subsidise farmers, but will instead give directly to those in need.
“The goal is to ensure that the burden of price increases is not too great because of the government’s cash contribution,” he explained.
The Prime Minister added that the details would be announced by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (Mafi).
“The government also encourages the intensification of the agro-food industry, so that we are all food involved, including raising chickens, planting corn for chicken feed, and so on,” he mentioned.
The government, he said, would also set up an agro-food fund of RM500 million for soft loans and would identify farmers’ organisations and cooperatives to receive the financial aid.
Ismail Sabri also said the government would create buffer stocks for chicken, fish, and meat.
“The government is also reviewing tax incentives given to the agro-food industry players and has also halted the export of 3.6 million chickens per month to other countries because what matters to us is our own people.
“We don’t want exports to cause supplies to dwindle, with our people suffering as a result,” he pointed out. — DayakDaily
