Malaysian pm says rising prices due to supply chain

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia's prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Wednesday that rising prices of essential goods in the country were not caused by traders but by costs at various levels of the supply chain.

It is true that the daily essentials are more expensive now. The price increase isn't caused by traders and wholesalers. I see it as a result of the supply chain.

You can get chicken as an example. The costs of brewers, factories and wholesalers are all of their own. The price is already high by the time the goods reach the traders, according to Mr Ismail Sabri.

He said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries should cooperate with the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry to resolve the issue.

He said that the government needs to look into the issue of involvement of middlemen at the same time.

Mr Ismail Sabri also said that Malaysia will import frozen chicken to allow people to buy chicken at a cheaper price.

He said we will bring in 200 container loads and that imported frozen chicken will be available in the local markets by next week.

The price of local chicken in Malaysia has gone up recently to RM 9.80 per kg, which is unusual, said Mr Ismail Sabri.

He said that chicken prices have increased to RM 10 per kg in the past, but this rarely happens as they normally range between RM 7 and RM 8 per kg.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries plans to halt fish exports temporarily to keep prices at local markets affordable, according to Ismail Sabri.

We will temporarily stop fish exports because it is important to meet the needs of our people. He said that we do not want them to be burdened with price hikes, especially for wet goods.

On Tuesday, Malaysia's Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister said that the government would hold regular sales of basic goods to keep the prices of necessities affordable for consumers.

The ministry will make sure that the prices of goods sold will be cheaper than the market, by 15 to 20 per cent, said Alexander Nanta Linggi, head of the ministry.

Mr Nanta said other government agencies and departments would cooperate with his ministry to make sure that these basic necessities reach households affected by the price increases.

The ministry has more than 1,000 officers daily monitoring the prices of 480 items in 1,500 premises nationwide.