Malaysia to review exports of palm kernel cake

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) will hold discussions with stakeholders to review its export policy on palm kernel cake (PKC) in favour of local broilers.

Its minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin said a lot of the commodity is exported to cater for the European cattle industry.

"Past research has shown that feeding fermented PKC and high dietary fat to broilers, can be a good substitute for the imported feed which almost all commercial chicken farms use today," she said in a statement today.

Noting that one reason for soaring chicken prices is the high price of chicken feed, Zuraida said MPIC will step up its efforts to promote the use of palm kernel waste as animal feed to ensure Malaysia has a sustainable supply of chickens in the long run.

The ministry, she said, will also work with relevant agencies, government-linked companies and state governments to urgently look into how it can quickly ensure the availability of palm kernel waste as animal feed for the Malaysian poultry industry.

Additionally, MPIC will also be working closely with research institutes such as public universities to look into ways to enhance the quality of PKC to make it the preferred choice for chicken breeders.

This includes ways of reducing the fibre content in the PKC, she added.

"MPIC is committed to playing its part to help reduce Malaysia's dependence on imported livestock feed, in the spirit of Keluarga Malaysia.

"At the end of the day, it's about putting the interests of the people first and the ministry is determined to ensure the commodity sectors consistently contribute to the country's economic development," she said.

Zuraida said it was reported that the price of chicken feed had gone up from RM500 per tonne to RM1,900 per tonne in some cases.

"As a result, chickens were being fed less, causing the livestock to grow slower than normal, and in the process restricting the supply of the birds," she said.

According to her, Malaysia imports most of its chicken feed, mostly made of grain like corn and soybean whereby these items are facing worldwide shortage due to the war in Ukraine and uncertain weather patterns.

-- BERNAMA