Snitch on suppliers? We’d rather pay penalty: chicken traders

KAJANG – For some traders in Kajang, the long arm of the law is preferable to ratting out their chicken suppliers, even though they are selling above the ceiling price, forcing the traders to pass on the price increase to consumers.

A survey by The Vibes’ sister portal Getaran found that small retailers, such as sundry shops and family grocers, have raised chicken prices to RM10.70 per kg, exceeding the government’s ceiling price of RM9.40.

However, they are adamant about not revealing the names of their suppliers or even the invoices detailing their purchases in fear of retaliation – being cut off by their suppliers.

Worse, if word gets out that the traders are throwing the suppliers under the bus, they will be blacklisted and boycotted by the rest of the industry players in the country.

Snitch on our suppliers? Never!

A 21-year-old sundry shop owner known as Mohd Fariz, who inherited his father’s business in Kajang’s Sg Merab Luar, said he has been forced to sell his birds at a higher price because his suppliers are selling them to him at RM9.40 ceiling price.

To make a small profit, the young businessman has no other choice but to increase his retail price to RM10.70 per kg despite the possible public backlash.

“I insist on not revealing the name of my supplier, and I will not reveal the receipt (invoice from the supplier). If I reveal it, it’s the same as hanging myself because I will lose my supplier.

Even though I could be fined for selling above the ceiling price, I will not reveal my supplier to the media. Never.

He added that the price increase for fresh chickens was driven by a spike in operational and logistic costs at the wholesaler level.

Fariz said the government needs to move fast to address this problem.

“The government needs to take quick action, not just against traders, but also monitoring the suppliers, wholesalers, and even the farms.”

Sharing Fariz’s sentiments is 61-year-old S. Muthusamy who also refused to share his invoices.

He said his chicken prices could not be standardised, seeing that he has multiple suppliers.

“Right now, the price of fresh chicken from wholesalers is around RM9 to RM9.50 per kg. It has already exceeded the ceiling price. So, as a businessman, I am forced to sell the chicken at RM10.50 per kg. I need to make a profit too.

“What I noticed is that there is no decrease in chicken prices at all, even though the government has determined that the ceiling price is RM9.40. Instead, it continues to increase at the supplier level.”

Pricier chicken come Hari Raya Haji

Meanwhile, Muhammad Shamir Abadi hopes that the price of fresh chickens will not spike in light of the upcoming Hari Raya Haji festivities as it did a few years ago.

However, he did not reject the possibility that the price will continue to increase to as high as RM12 per kg, similar to the situation during Chinese New Year last February.

“The possibility that chicken prices going up to RM12 per kg once more is expected if there is no monitoring at the farms and wholesalers because this is the trend during every festive season and long school holiday.

“It is difficult for me to say that my customers are no longer paying the service charge, even though chicken prices have been reduced to RM9.40 per kg.

As much as I can, I don’t want to sell for more than RM9 because I understand the difficulties and burden my customers are facing right now.

Supermarkets in Bangi maintain ceiling price

However, checks at supermarkets around Bangi Avenue and Bandar Baru Bangi found that bigger players have maintained chicken prices at RM8.90 per kg, waiving the butchering fee.

In fact, the prices of 2kg and 5kg bottled oil have maintained between RM12.70 to RM29.70, even though subsidised oil packs have run out, following the prediction that the price of oil will increase to more than RM40 for 5kg bottles.

A 41-year-old supermarket worker who only wanted to be known as Alias said his company is still maintaining the price following a decrease in prices at the farmers’ level, allowing them to sell at a lower price.

He added that as long as there is no price increase at the farmers’ level, the supermarket will not raise the chicken price.

“We have stopped charging a butchering service fee since last April because the price of chickens at the farmers’ level decreased by 70 sen per kg, but if it is increased by 80 sen then we will have to follow the new ceiling price.

“I understand the pressure faced by our customers because things are getting more expensive. In response, our supermarket maintains a flexible policy when it comes to chicken price and service charge. If we can absorb the cost, we will maintain the current prices.” – The Vibes, July 2, 2022