Delayed subsidy strain poultry farmers’ cash flow

The chairman of the Sibu Livestock Farmers Association Ling Chi Kiong said delays by the government in providing egg subsidies are causing cash flow issues for poultry farmers.

He pointed out that this year’s egg subsidy has been missing since January, and now it has been overdue for five months without any response even after inquiries.

“Since the government does not allow egg prices to float freely, the subsidy should be implemented promptly. Egg subsidies should be disbursed within three months at most. We need the funds to sustain operations; delayed subsidies leave us in a cash flow crisis,” he said.

He said that the government’s subsidy for eggs remains unchanged from before, continuing to provide a food subsidy of 10 sen per egg.

However, he said due to a decrease in poultry feed costs, the government has calculated that under the subsidy scheme, the retail price of Grade A, Grade B, and Grade C eggs must be reduced by 3 sen each, resulting in a decrease of 90 sen per tray of eggs.

He disclosed that recently, the price of poultry feed has decreased, with corn previously priced at over RM1,407.98 per ton now at RM 1,314.27 per ton, and soybean meal dropping from over RM 2,816.30 per ton to over RM2,581.61 per ton.

Despite the rising cost of feed, he said they have complied with the egg price reduction.

He also said that they do not object to the Prime Minister’s announcement of a 3-cent reduction in the retail price of eggs, adding that they have already implemented it in their pricing.

“In light of the decrease in feed prices and the government subsidy received, we can manage,” he said, reported Sin Chew Daily.