TE24 International Desk:
SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR – Singapore is bracing for a shortage of its de-facto national dish, chicken rice, as major supplier, Malaysia halts all chicken exports from Wednesday (June 1).
Restaurants and street stalls in the city-state are faced with hiking prices of the staple food or shutting down altogether as their supplies dwindle from neighbouring Malaysia, where production has been disrupted by a global feed shortage.
Malaysia’s product boycott is the most recent indication of developing worldwide food deficiencies as nations, faltering from the impacts of Russia’s attack of Ukraine, outrageous climate, and pandemic-related supply disturbances, scramble to support homegrown supplies and manageable food expansion.
Rising costs for fundamental food things have as of now fuelled fights in nations like Argentina, Indonesia, Greece and Iran.
Daniel Tan, proprietor of a chain of seven slows down called OK Chicken Rice, said Malaysia’s boycott will be “disastrous” for sellers like him.
“The boycott would mean we are presently not ready to sell. It’s like McDonald’s without any burgers,” he said.
He added his stalls usually source live birds from Malaysia but will have to switch to using frozen chicken within the week and are expecting a “strong hit to sales” as customers react to the change in quality of the dish.
Singapore, although among the wealthiest countries in Asia, has a heavily urbanised land area of just 730 square km (280 square miles) and relies largely on imported food, energy and other goods.
Nearly all of its chicken is imported: 34 per cent from Malaysia, 49per cent from Brazil and 12 per cent from the United States, according to data from Singapore Food Agency (SFA).
A plate of simple poached chicken and white rice cooked in broth served with a side of greens is a dish beloved by the country’s 5.5 million people, and is usually widely available for about $4 at eateries known as hawker centres.
The SFA has said the shortfall can be offset by frozen chicken from Brazil, and has urged consumers to opt for other protein sources like fish.
Malaysia, itself facing soaring prices, has decided to halt chicken exports until local production and costs stabilise.
Prices have been capped since February at 8.90 ringgit (S$2.80) per bird and a subsidy of 729.43 million ringgit has been set aside for poultry farmers.
Chicken feed typically consists of grain and soybean, which Malaysia imports. But the government is having to consider alternatives amid a global feed shortage.
Lower quality feed means the birds are not growing as fast as usual, slowing down the entire supply chain, said poultry farmer Syaizul Abdullah Syamil Zulkaffly.
Previously, Syaizul’s farm of broiler chicken was able to harvest as many as seven times a year, with 45,000 birds harvested per cycle. This year he expects only five harvest cycles.
Syaizul, who started feeling the pinch of higher operating costs during the pandemic, says the export ban will only make things worse for poultry farmers.
“I don’t know if this industry can sustain me … for the next five or ten years,” he said, adding that he’s had to go into debt to keep up with costs.
“Maybe I should go work at a petrol station or something is even better, less headache than actually managing a chicken farm.”
