Jakarta –
For decades, Singapore has relied heavily on Malaysia to supply a third of the country’s chickens. Every month Malaysia exports 3.6 million live chickens, most of which are shipped to Singapore.
However, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob last week announced the shocking news of banning live chicken exports to Singapore starting in June. Quoted from CNN, Friday (3/6/2022), this decision was taken to overcome the shortage of supply at the domestic level which made chicken prices soar.
The news is expected to be a major blow to Singaporeans. Because, de facto chicken rice is a national dish in the Lion Country. Attempts to replace fresh meat with frozen meat are not expected to be successful.
Meanwhile, the Singapore government ensures that there is sufficient supply of chicken to be distributed to the public. But local traders say if the price will definitely go up.
Currently, traders buy whole chickens at a price of US$ 3 or Rp. 43,500 (exchange rate of 14,500). With the reduced stock, the price is predicted to increase to US$ 4-5 per one. The last shipment of live chickens arrived Tuesday forcing Singapore to prepare for a shortage that could last for months.
The government’s short-term solution is to import more frozen chicken from Thailand and Brazil. However, the chicken rice seller said that this step was not a solution. “Frozen chicken? You expect us to cook chicken rice using frozen chicken? It doesn’t taste good,” said street vendor Madam Tong with a laugh.
The nickname ‘chicken rice crisis’ for the situation is just the latest sign of food shortages being felt around the world. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, supply chain problems related to COVID-19, and extreme weather contributed to scarcity and inflation.
In the United States, Asia and Africa, potato shortages are causing fast food restaurants to run out of products such as French fries and chips. The increase in feed costs in Malaysia has caused chicken prices to soar in recent months. Currently, retailers have allocated chicken sales to traders.
Watch the video ‘Malaysia Bans Chicken Exports, Singapore Crisis in Supply’:
(zlf/zlf)
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