Malaysian farmers threaten to dump chicks<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysian poultry farmers have
\nthreatened to dump two million chicks at the Agriculture Ministry
\nto protest against a slump in chicken prices, the national
\nBernama news agency reported yesterday.<\/p>\n
After earlier dropping a threat to kill a million birds, 20
\naffiliate members of the Federation of Poultry Breeders
\nAssociations of Malaysia meeting yesterday agreed to the dumping
\naction in two weeks.<\/p>\n
\"If the issue is not solved...we may dump the chicks at the
\nministry,\" a federation official was quoted over a private
\ntelevision station.<\/p>\n
The meeting overturned an earlier decision by federation
\npresident Chia Keok Kong which blocked a bid by members to send a
\nmillion chicks to the ministry yesterday.<\/p>\n
The farmers had earlier dropped another plan to gas or bury
\nthe chicks alive after protests from horrified animal lovers and
\nconsumer groups.<\/p>\n
Seven lorries filled with more than 800,000 day-old chicks
\nfrom four states had already arrived at the federation's office
\njust outside Kuala Lumpur, Bernama reported.<\/p>\n
Private television station TV3 showed people arriving at the
\nfederation's office to take the chicks home in the boots of their
\ncars.<\/p>\n
The government on Thursday tried to solve the issue by
\nappealing to its citizens to eat as many chickens as they could.<\/p>\n
\"We ask the public to help solve this problem by consuming
\nmore chicken. This opportunity won't last long,\" Agriculture
\nMinister Sulaiman Daud told reporters on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The flap arose after poultry breeders claimed that the slump
\nin chicken prices threatened their businesses.<\/p>\n
About 1.08 million chickens are supplied to the Malaysian
\nmarket daily, while demand amounts to only 900,000.<\/p>\n
Chia said he had to consider \"the emotions of (poultry)
\nproducers who had mortgaged houses, land and even signed personal
\nguarantees with banks and are unable to repay the loans now
\nbecause of low chicken prices\".<\/p>\n
Chia said the farmer now received between 1.20 ringgit and
\n1.40 ringgit (US$0.47 and $0.55) for one kg of chicken. His costs
\ntotaled 2.80 ringgit ($1.10) a kg.<\/p>\n
Sulaiman blamed the glut on farmers' misreading of demand
\nduring two major festivals in Malaysia in February.<\/p>\n
The farmers had earlier accused the government of flooding the
\nmarket with poultry imports during the Moslem Idul Fitri and
\nChinese New Year festivals which coincided last month for the
\nfirst time in three decades.<\/p>\n
Farmers said high world corn prices had raised poultry
\nproduction costs by between 20 and 30 percent since the start of
\nthis year and some operators may be forced to close.<\/p>\n
There are about 90 breeder farms producing day-old chicks in
\nMalaysia, about 1,000 commercial layer farms producing eggs and
\nanother 1,000 broiler farms which produce meat.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysian-farmers-threaten-to-dump-chicks-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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