PETALING JAYA: Frozen chicken imports in Malaysia come from Thailand and not Brazil, says Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Rosol Wahid.

       "(The chicken) is from Thailand and we have not gone as far as Brazil," he said, adding that only two or three container loads have been brought in so far.

       Datuk Mahfuz Omar (PH – Pokok Sena) had asked in Parliament on Tuesday (March 8) about the country importing chicken from China or Brazil.

       Rosol said there were constraints in importing chicken as it was costly.

       He noted that the Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry had issued 29 permits to importers and hypermarkets so far.

       In January, it was reported that the government had given approval to 32 companies from Thailand, China and Brazil to export frozen whole chicken into Malaysia to address the shortage in Malaysia.

       In reply to a question from Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PH – Pandan) on the steps taken by the National Action Council on Cost of Living (Naccol) to control the prices of essential goods, Rosol said that several decisions had been made during Naccol special meetings on Dec 9, 2021 and on Jan 31.

       Rosol said short-term initiatives approved were the Program Jualan Keluarga Malaysia and the Program Mekanisme Kawalan Harga Minyak Masak with allocations of RM100mil and RM150mil respectively.

       He said the retail price of standard chicken had been set at RM8.90 in Peninsular Malaysia, and also lowered in areas like Sabah, Sarawak and Langkawi.

       Rosol added that subsidies have also been given to poultry farmers; permits allow the import of whole chicken; agricultural cooperatives which will offer basic goods without involving middlemen; as well as addressing foreign labour shortages in food production sectors.

       Among medium- to long-term plans, he said, Naccol had decided that the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) would investigate if there are cartels involved to manipulate the prices of chicken and eggs; and for the Finance Ministry to review tax incentives for the transformation of poultry farms.

       Rosol also pointed out that there are currently 2,000 officers around the country checking if any parties are stockpiling chicken.

       However, he said they had not received any report on this yet.

       "What is happening right now is not about stockpiling – it is due to the floods, the Covid-19 situation as well as the rising cost of raw materials," he said.