Supplies of fresh chickens at wet markets may not last the week, say sellers
Customers buying chicken from a stall selling fresh poultry at a wet market in Vista Point, Woodlands.
Customers who visit wet markets over the next week will see dwindling supplies of fresh chickens and can expect to pay higher prices for them, following Malaysia’s export ban of the poultry that kicks in on Wednesday (June 1).
Some chicken sellers told TODAY that their supplies may not even last the week, while food-and-beverage (F&B) operators said that they have stockpiled and even switched to frozen alternatives — although some, too, have raised prices.
Mr James Sim, head of business development at importer Kee Song Food, said that it has stockpiled up to 10 days of fresh chickens that were frozen in Singapore to be disbursed to its clients, which include online retailers, supermarket chains, restaurant groups, wet markets and chicken rice stalls.
Businesses, especially those that mainly offer chicken, will be given priority.
In the last week, the importer has ramped up capacity by about 30 to 40 per cent in order to freeze as many chickens as time and labour limitations allow.
