PUTRAJAYA, April 19 — Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi says the hike in the costs of imported chicken feed is among the major causes of the increase in the price of chicken in the country recently.

He said to remedy the situation, his ministry had held engagement sessions with major chicken farm owners in the country and discussed with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI) on implementing a fixed price for standard chicken.

Through this effort, he said the price of standard chicken had been fixed at RM7.90 for the 2021 Aidilfitri Festive Season Maximum Price Control Scheme (SHMMP) which would begin on Wednesday (April 21) until May 20, compared to RM7.50 last year.

"There are several factors involved in the chicken price increase but the most significant is the hike in the costs of chicken feed since January this year, namely, imported maize and soya,’’ he told a media conference today when announcing the Aidilfitri SHMMP for this year.

The scheme announced involves price controls for 12 items in four categories, namely, chicken, chicken egg, meat and sea produce.

According to Nanta, price control was implemented at every level in the chicken distribution chain from farms to retail shops.

"This (price control mechanism) does not burden the traders, because all stakeholders in the chicken distribution chain have obtained their respective profits,’’ he said, hoping that fixing the chicken price would reduce the grouses of the people.

He said, however, the price control only involved live chicken, standard chicken and super chicken during the Aidilfitri festive period.

"The prices of chicken parts which have been cut, such as the breast, leg and thigh are not controlled,’’ he added

Nanta also warned traders against raising the price of chicken or other items above the maximum price.

‘‘We encourage them to sell at a lower price than fixed in the 2021 Aidilfitri SHMMP.

‘‘We will first advice the traders who raise prices. But legal action will be taken if they are stubborn,’’ he said.

Yesterday, Nanta was reported to have said that KPDNHEP through the two-day Anti-Profiteering Operation 8.0 (Ops Catut 8.0) from April 15, had issued 24 notices to wholesalers suspected of obtaining excessive profits.

Ops Catut 8.0, which was implemented following a drastic hike in the price of chicken detected recently, also issued 16 notices to livestock farmers over the same offence. — Bernama