Back in June 2022, the Malaysian government imposed an export ban for chickens following a shortage of domestic supply, which in turn increased the prices of chickens in our country. The export ban also affected our neighbour Singapore which relies on fresh chicken supplies from Malaysia for their culinary needs, to the point that many chicken rice shops in the country had to temporarily stop selling chicken rice due to the lack of fresh chicken supply alternatives.
Thankfully, such shortage has since been rectified and after almost 5 months of the export ban being imposed, it has been lifted and on Thursday (13 October 2022), the first batch of live Malaysian broiler chickens crossed the borders and were received by supermarkets in Singapore. As reported by The Straits Times, Singaporeans flocked to wet markets and minimarts to purchase fresh chickens imported from Malaysia, with hawkers expecting them to sell out quickly.
In fact, the fresh chickens from Malaysia have been so popular since its reintroduction in Singapore despite the prices increasing up to 35 per cent from what it was before the export ban was imposed. According to The Straits Times, Mr Vincent Liow, the co-owner of Ken & Vin Fresh Poultry in Ghim Moh Road Market and Food Centre, said most of his fresh chicken stock was already running out when the publication visited at 8am, owing to pre-orders from his customers.
Liow further revealed that the chickens used to cost him around SGD4 (RM13.17) per kg but now it’s close to SGD7 (RM23.05) per kg. Accordingly, the 47-year-old said that he had to raise his prices from SGD6 (RM19.76) per kg to SGD8 (RM26.34) per kg, but despite that increase, most of the fresh chicken and the parts are already sold out before 8am.
So, what do you guys think of the lifting of Malaysia’s chicken export ban and its popularity in Singapore? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Also read: Man From China Tried To Bring 226KG of Meat Into S’pore, Slapped With RM56,600 Fine
