Malaysia: Outlook for poultry players brighter with feed cost softening, ceiling price removal

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 30, 2023 - November 5, 2023 CHICKEN and eggs are staples of the Malaysian diet, so much so that the per capita consumption of chicken stands at a whopping 50kg — one of the highest in the world — while per capita consumption of eggs averages 280 per year. Thus, the announcement this week of when the government plans to end price controls on these two items and allow their prices to float will be of much interest to the public. Many are waiting to see if the prices will move up quickly or remain where they are at the present time — for example below the ceiling price of RM9.40 per kg for a standard chicken (slaughtered, cleaned, with head, feet and organs). “The market will reach an equilibrium price. It could go up or down, it’s difficult to foresee it. The biggest variable that determines market prices is supply. Demand is quite constant, it does not fluctuate much,” says a poultry industry veteran. The price ...