ALOR SETAR, Feb 13 — The government has yet to decide whether to extend or not the subsidy for poultry farmers after June 4, said Agriculture and Food Industries Minister (Mafi) Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee.

He said the current subsidy is provided for the period between February 5 to June 4, which is during the implementation of the Keluarga Malaysia Maximum Price Control Scheme (SHMKM), involving an allocation of more than RM500 million.

“The subsidy is given to ensure the price of chicken remains below RM8.90 per kilogram compared to the market price which can reach up to RM9.80 or RM9.90 per kilogram. Since we want to lower the price, the government needs to provide subsidy even if it will have a financial impact on the government.

“At the moment, we cannot reduce the price of imported corn. We do not grow corn commercially for animal feed, so we import, hence, the increase in the price of chicken,” he said after opening the Large-Scale Smart Paddy Field (Smart SBB) project at the Area Farmers Organisation (PPK) of the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA) C-IV Kangkong near here, today.

Ronald said a new policy to encourage corn cultivation was being drafted to reduce the country’s dependence on imported corn for use as for animal feed as part of the effort to control chicken prices.

“The government wants to encourage the cultivation of corn as the country’s dependence on imported corn has resulted in an increase in the cost of livestock farming in Malaysia and also the price of chicken in the market,” he added.

The government has agreed to provide a subsidy of 60 sen per kg to poultry farmers, by taking into account the farm-level price of live chickens at RM5.90/kg and the retail price of standard chicken at RM8.90/kg, as well as a subsidy of 5 sen per egg from all categories. — Bernama