He said suppliers have stated that prices were going up because of feed costs and a labour shortage, but there was also a shortage of supplies.
He said his chain has been getting only 60% of its usual supply.
“This is worrying considering that this is not even the peak season. We were told by our suppliers that the prices will be going up because of the high cost of chicken feed and a shortage of foreign workers,” he told FMT.
At the start of September, Ameer said the price of chicken was only RM8 per kilogramme but has been increasing ever since except for the Deepavali period when price controls were imposed.
By next week, Ameer said the price would rise to RM9.39 per kg, a RM1.40 rise in the space of just two and a half months.
A poultry farmer who declined to be named said one of the issues with the supply of chickens especially to retail outlets was that the birds were growing slower because of the cooler weather due to the heavy rain.
“So, many birds do not meet the requirements of retail outlets and there is a notion that there is a shortage.”
The farmer however said there were serious concerns over the labour shortage which not only affects farms but processing plants, leading to higher operating costs, including in overtime payments.
Ameer said the labour shortage has led to a drop in productivity, not only in the poultry industry but in the food and beverage and retail industries as a whole.
“Since the start of the pandemic, many foreign workers have returned to their home country and companies are unable to bring in new workers because of the ban on the hiring of foreign workers.
“In Mydin alone, we have lost over 1,000 workers that we cannot replace. The government’s foreign worker recalibration programme has not worked,” he said. Ameer said those in power did not realise just how much businesses and the economy were suffering.
“It has nothing to do with Covid-19, it’s down to a drop in productivity.”
He urged the government to allow the intake of new foreign workers, saying businesses would comply with requirements set by the government including on the costs they would have to incur for quarantine and vaccination.
“Give approvals directly to businesses that need foreign workers. Do not give approvals to syndicates that bring in foreign workers,” he said.
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