Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Following a prohibition on exports from a major supplier, Malaysia, Indonesia will begin shipping chicken...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Following a prohibition on exports from a major supplier, Malaysia, Indonesia will begin shipping chicken to Singapore this week, according to the country's agriculture ministry, in an effort to address a continuing shortfall in the city-state.
According to a statement from the Indonesian agriculture ministry, the first cargo of 50 tonnes of frozen chicken, valued at 2 billion Indonesian rupiah ($133,467), was scheduled to depart for Singapore on July 15.
According to a separate statement from the poultry company Charoen Pokhpand Indonesia, it plans to send 1,000 tonnes of chicken meat to Singapore by the end of this year and will boost supply in response to demand.
A third of Singapore's chicken comes from Malaysia, which early last month stopped exporting the chickens after local production and prices were negatively impacted by a lack of feed on a worldwide scale.
The decision had a knock-on effect in Singapore, where street vendors and restaurants raised their rates for chicken rice, the country's de facto national dish.
The prohibition has been partially lifted for some luxury chickens, but it is still in effect for other chicken products and commercial broiler chicken, which accounts for the majority of Singapore's chicken imports from Malaysia.
According to Achmad Dawami, the chairman of the Indonesian Poultry Breeders' Association, Indonesia produces 55 to 60 million chickens every week, with a surplus of between 15 and 20 percent after domestic consumption.
(1 USD = 14,985,00 Rupiah)
