KUALA TERENGGANU: The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI) are ready with an intervention plan to ensure a sufficient supply of eggs throughout the country during the fasting month and Hari Raya Aidilfitri later.

Its Deputy Minister Datuk Rosol Wahid said this was due to KPDNHEP's anticipation that during the fasting month and Hari Raya Aidilfitri which will arrive soon, the consumption of eggs will be higher than usual.

He said KPDNHEP and MAFI will also carry out continuous advocacy with chicken egg operators to ensure a stable supply by the festive season.

"We have informed MAFI to take action and I understand that MAFI has taken efforts to ensure an abundant supply of eggs because come the fasting month and Aidilfitri, we know many people will be making kuih raya, cakes and so on. So the demand for eggs will be more than usual," he said.

He told reporters after visiting the Keluarga Malaysia Sales Programme (PJKM) at Dataran Restoran Ikan Bakar near Manir here today.

Meanwhile, Rosol said his ministry had recorded 95 offences related to the maximum price of chicken and eggs, involving 94 retailers and one wholesaler nationwide, from Feb 5 till yesterday (Feb 18).

He said of the total, 87 cases involved offences of not displaying the special pink price tag, seven cases of selling chicken and eggs above the maximum price while one case had no price tag.

"The offences were recorded as a result of inspections on 11,036 retailers and 232 wholesalers nationwide. The total value of compounds issued to offenders was RM14,700 while the total value of items confiscated was RM8,733.54," he said.

The government had previously agreed to provide a subsidy of 60 sen per kg to poultry farmers and five sen for each egg of all grades from Feb 5 to June 4, during the implementation period of the Keluarga Malaysia Maximum Price Scheme (SHMKM).

In another development, Rosol said the ministry would intensify Ops Indah if the government decided to reopen the country's borders to revive the economic and tourism sectors.

He said Ops Indah, which was previously launched in 2020 but was slowed down due to the implementation of the Movement Control Order, was aimed at monitoring the price tagging of goods and food in tourist hotspots, including hotels.

The National Recovery Council chaired by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had earlier made a proposal for the government to consider opening the border immediately as the country's vaccination rate was excellent.

-- BERNAMA