PUTRAJAYA: Issues surrounding the prices of chicken are difficult to resolve as the cost of many items have increased, and it is impossible for enforcement officers to be everywhere at once, said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.
Nanta said his ministry was however doing their best.
"Please understand that we have little more than 2,200 enforcement officers to go after those who flout the law (related to pricing and trade), investigate and compound errant traders.
"It's impossible for them to cover all the areas concerned. But make no mistake.. they are always on the ground.
"To say otherwise is unfair," Nanta told a press conference here on Thursday.
He was reacting to a report where a complainant claimed enforcement officers did not go to the ground and do price checks.
Nanta said the best way forward was for sellers to comply with the maximum price imposed by the authorities on chickens.
"I know there are those selling more than the set prices. But the issue of pricing is very hard to resolve because the prices of many things have increased.
"In fact we are putting a lot of pressure on suppliers and farmers by insisting that they produce chickens at low prices when most of their operational costs have increased."
He said that suppliers were trying their best to comply with the mechanism, while the government had also provided assistance, via subsidies and other aid for the price of chicken to be kept low.
On what else can be done, he said the ministries concerned can ask for more money from the government to assist industry players so their cost can be lowered and prices dropped.
On traders and consumers being held "hostage" by suppliers and middlemen, he said it was merely an allegation.
"We have done some investigations, and some of them have problems because they cannot get supplies. As I said, we have to understand the problems at their level.
"I do not want to go into supplies as it is under another ministry (the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries) but we are working closely with them and looking seriously at the pricing."
The continuous rising prices of chicken feed, imported chicken and a global shortage of poultry due to the avian flu pandemic have been cited as among reasons why chicken prices have soared. This goes back to Malaysia's over dependency on the imports of poultry as well as feed.
The Consumer Association of Kedah (Cake) had earlier called on the authorities to go after the "hidden hands" inflating prices of processed chicken.
Its secretary Yusrizal Yusoff called on the Ministry to carry out thorough investigations into the whole supply chain from chicken farmers, suppliers, and so-called "middlemen" that were acting as "invisible hands" and inflating the prices.
Traders also claimed shortage in supplies of chicken and eggs that had persisted from the beginning of the year and forced to absorb transport costs levelled on them since the government enforced the price control on chicken on Feb 5.
Traders who flout the rule have publicly asked how chickens could be retailed at RM8.90 per kg based on the ceiling price, when the wholesale price of the birds was RM8.60.
