Even with chicken export ban, Malaysia’s F&B players struggle with shortage and higher prices

TEN days after Malaysia halted all exports of chicken, many food and beverage (F&B) operators and wholesalers in the country say they have yet to see a greater supply available to them.

Prices are far from stabilising too, with some players even spending more to source for kampung chicken from smaller farms as a stop-gap measure to ensure they have enough stock to keep their operations going.

Desmond Chew, the owner of a chicken rice restaurant in Kuala Lumpur that sells kampung chicken, told The Business Times that he has already lost count of the number of times his supplier has increased the price of the birds this year.