Dap Sec Gen Cancelling Food Import Ap Not A Silver Bullet

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Removing the need to approve permits (AP) for food imports will not solve all food security issues, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said.
This includes rising prices of crucial food items like poultry and supply shortages, Loke (above) said.
“The decision to cut the AP requirement is not a silver bullet formula to solve the issue of rising food costs, nor will it ensure that food supply is not disrupted.
“We need to understand that each country grapples with its own domestic food security issues, and producer countries will prioritise their own demands first.
“Furthermore, the ringgit is weak, so any imports will cost a lot,” he said.
Grain cultivation
He said while he supports maintaining a ceiling price for chicken, the key issue now is the high cost of animal feed.
As such, he urged the government to review the subsidy of 60sen per kg allocated to ensure it covers this rising cost.  
“Subsidy disbursement to farmers should not be subjected to bureaucratic interference,” he said.
He also urged the federal government to work with states to provide land for mass grain cultivation to make animal feed and reduce reliance on imports.
“Chicken is the main food item for Malaysians, so the government needs to act immediately to ensure supply and resolve cost pressures among farmers, immediately,” he said.
The Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry earlier said the chicken shortage is due to the heatwave, disruption of supply of chicken feed, and disease.
It denied claims the shortage is due to a strike by poultry industry cartels over a delay in subsidy payments.
Chicken shortage
Earlier this year, Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Ronald Kiandee said the government is formulating a policy to reduce dependence on animal feed imports by promoting grain corn farming.
It is unclear if this is linked to the Grain Corn Development Masterplan (2018-2032), launched by the government in 2016, with the aim of producing 30 percent of grain corn required for domestic consumption.
Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Ronald KiandeeThe Statistics Department (DOSM), in January, said chicken prices went up an average of 13 percent year on year.
On May 9, it said this caused a rise in the services producer index, driven by higher prices in restaurants and mobile food service providers.
Despite the government capping the price of chicken to RM8.90 per kg, prices can be as high as RM11 per kg in wet markets.
Consumers also complain of no supply of chicken in many major supermarkets or wet markets.
The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry said the sharp increase in the cost of corn and soybean feed resulted in a 70 percent hike in poultry farming costs.
The Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Associations of Malaysia (FLFAM) said among the reasons for pricier chicken feed is drought and cold weather in Brazil, which severely impacted grain production, and the weakening ringgit. - Mkini

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