‘Eggs-traordinary' boost for Malaysian poultry stocks
The removal of egg subsidies is the latest step in the government's fiscal consolidation efforts.
PETALING JAYA : Poultry stocks saw a boost in their share prices today following the government's announcement it is scrapping price control and subsidies for chicken eggs under its subsidy rationalisation initiative.
Teo Seng Capital Bhd and PWF Corp Bhd spiked as much as 8% each, Lay Hong Bhd rose 6% while CCK Consolidated Holdings Bhd edged up 4%.
However, the news had muted effect on the large-cap poultry companies. QL Resources Bhd ticked up 0.6% while Leong Hup International Bhd rose 0.8%. QL and Leong Hup are valued at RM17.5 billion and RM2.26 billion, respectively.
In contrast, Teo Seng, PWF, Lay Hong and CCK have market capitalisation ranging between RM250 million and RM840 million.
The agriculture and food security ministry announced this morning the government will end price control on eggs effective on May 1 as part of its phased subsidy retargeting. Subsidies on eggs will be halved to five sen from 10 sen per unit, before being fully scrapped on Aug 1, 2025.
The removal of egg subsidies is the latest step in the government's ongoing fiscal consolidation efforts.
'The government has also taken into account that prolonged price control and subsidy is unsustainable for the local egg producing industry as well as the country's fiscal health,' the ministry statement said.
The government initially planned to float egg prices in July 2023 but postponed the move due to concerns about potential price increases and the impact on consumers.
It had spent close to RM2.5 billion between February 2022 and December 2024 for subsidies on eggs to help producers cope with rising costs of soybean and corn following the Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine-Russia conflict.
To minimise the impact on cost of living, the government will undertake intervention measures including introducing a new grade of reasonably priced eggs and stepping up enforcement to curb profiteering and price manipulation.
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