Egg Prices To Increase As Govt Plans To Remove Subsidies Completely By August
Prices will increase by 5 sen per egg beginning tomorrow, 1 May.
Cover image via Starting tomorrow, May 1, the government will remove price controls on chicken eggs and reduce subsidies from 10 sen to 5 sen per egg
In a statement today, 30 April, the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry (KPKM) announced that the decision aligns with the government's plan to phase out subsidies entirely by 1 August.
"This decision was made after taking into account the industry's commitment to ensuring sufficient and stable egg production, as production costs have stabilised.
"This was evident during the recent Aidilfitri festive season, where supply remained adequate and prices were competitive," the statement read.
The government spent almost RM2.5 billion on egg subsidies between February 2022 and December 2024
The subsidies were introduced to cushion the impact of rising production costs, driven by the effects of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war on imported soybean and corn prices.
The ministry stated that prolonged price controls and subsidies were deemed unsustainable for the long-term viability of local egg producers and the country's financial stability.
It added that rationalising subsidies is the fairer approach, as subsidies are currently also enjoyed by foreign nationals and high-income groups.
"The savings from this subsidy rationalisation can be used for the financing of specific projects for the welfare of the people in line with the MADANI values," said the ministry.
To minimise the impact on the cost of living, the ministry, together with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN), will implement the following intervention measures:
– Special grade eggs at reasonable prices will be introduced by the industry.
– The public can purchase eggs at competitive prices through the Agro MADANI Sale and Rahmah Sale initiatives nationwide, including all outlets of the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) and the Farmers' Organisation Authority (LPP).
– KPDN will continue to intensify enforcement through continuous monitoring under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (AKHAP 2011) to combat any cases of profiteering or price manipulation by irresponsible traders.
In February 2022, chicken egg subsidies were introduced to stabilise prices amid supply shortages.
In October 2023, KPKM Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu announced that the government might end these subsidies if the egg supply stabilised, with savings redirected to other agro-food sectors, reported FMT.
Although plans to float egg prices were slated for July 2023, they were postponed due to concerns over price hikes.
In June 2024, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced a 3-sen reduction in the retail prices of grade A, B, and C eggs by 3 sen, bringing them down to 42 sen, 40 sen, and 38 sen, respectively, in Peninsular Malaysia, with RM100 million allocated for the subsidy scheme.
Last month, The Star reported that the price of 30 grade E eggs at a store in Johor Bahru had fallen from RM8.50 to RM4, marking a 50% reduction. Meanwhile, 30 grade C eggs were priced at RM5.50, down from RM10.
This sharp price drop sparked concerns that Malaysian eggs may have been smuggled to the US, where egg prices had surged, reported Harian Metro last month.
30 grade D eggs were reportedly selling at RM5 in Terengganu earlier this month.
Image via zestytaiso (Reddit)
