KOTA KINABALU – The Sabah government has approved the import of 200 tonnes of pork for the upcoming Chinese New Year festival to ensure stable prices for the item in the state.
Federal Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Chan Foong Hin said that allowing pork imports is currently the only way to solve the shortage of the item’s supply in the state.
This follows pig farmers in the state being severely affected by the African Swine Flu (AFS) over the past two years and several pig farms forced to shutter due to huge losses.
“Unfortunately, until today there is no vaccine to solve this epidemic. If any district or farm has pigs diagnosed with AFS, all pigs in the district would have to be killed and buried. This is a huge loss to farm owners,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He had earlier met with representatives of the Sabah Livestock Association on Friday.
Chan added that the imported pork will not come as frozen pork products – similar to imported packaged beef and lamb products at the supermarkets.
He also said that he is aware of the announcement made by Sandakan sellers that they will be raising the price for commercial whole pigs. He hoped they could reconsider maintaining the price at RM20 per kg as this was the price labelled during the recent Christmas holiday.
He said he will be meeting with federal Domestic Trade and Living Costs Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub next week to ensure that pork prices do not surge during the Chinese New Year festive period. – The Vibes, January 1, 2023
