Malaysian farmers to boost output only when there is clarity on lifting ban

30 Approximate number of days for a chicken to grow to its full size. This means that it would take about a month for Singapore to get a full supply of fresh chickens in the event that the export ban is lifted, said Mr Lau Ka Leng, secretary of the Johor Poultry Breeders Association.

- David Sun 

Malaysian chicken farmers said they are not ramping up production for export to Singapore until they have more clarity on when the existing export ban will be lifted.

Speaking to The Sunday Times on condition of anonymity, the farmers added that they are afraid the ban will be extended again, leaving them with a surplus of chickens and monetary losses.

This means that Singapore may not be able to get a full supply of fresh chickens from Malaysia immediately after the ban is eventually lifted.

Malaysia first banned chicken exports on June 1, owing to a shortage in domestic supply. The ban was supposed to be lifted in July, but that was delayed to August and then moved to October, with no clear end date in sight.

A farmer who caters mostly to overseas sales said: “We’ve been kept in the dark and have no idea what is going to happen and when.

“Some of us have lost faith in these promises from the government and many of us are already thinking of how to move our operations to Indonesia.”

Malaysia used to export about 3.6 million chickens to Singapore monthly, meeting about a third of the demand for chickens in the Republic.

After the ban, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) gave approval for Indonesia to export frozen, chilled and processed chickens to the country in June.