SINGAPORE : Supermarkets hope to bring in eggs from Malacca and
Johor as soon as possible, as consumers welcomed the partial
lifting of the ban on poultry imports from Malaysia.
But egg importers say while prices will fall, they will probably
not return to pre-ban levels, for a while.
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Eggs from NTUC cost between 48 and 60 cents each, but they are set
to get cheaper with the partial lifting of the Malaysian poultry
ban.
The supermarket chain is also removing current restrictions on the
purchase of eggs with immediate effect.
It had put in place a purchase limit of two trays of eggs for each
customer.
"The prices of eggs and poultry will depend on the prices of our
suppliers. With the eggs coming from two Malaysian states we feel
that there is enough supply of eggs to meet the local demand. And
we will be lifting all the restrictions imposed on the purchase of
eggs at our supermarket," said Tng Ah Yiam, senior manager at NTUC
Fairprice.
Consumers were all smiles at the news.
"It's good news; it's high time they restored it. I think the bird
flu is from far up north. I think they won't affect the chicken
farms in Johor or Malacca. I'll go back to my normal consumption
before the ban," one shopper said.
"That's good news because I haven't been eating it for a long long
time. My kids were already off eggs for the past month. It would be
good to have it back," another said.
"Good news, hopefully the eggs will have more stock and its cheaper
by then," said a third shopper.
Both the Cold Storage Group and NTUC will continue to bring in
Australian eggs, but will review the situation according to
demand.
They hope to start importing eggs from Johor and Malacca as soon as
possible.
But Tan Yu Hua, chairman of the Egg Merchant's Association, does
not think prices will return to the pre-ban levels for a
while.
He said several smaller suppliers in Malaysia had to close down
after the ban, which could mean supply will not go back to pre-ban
days.
"For retailers, especially those in the market, eggs will probably
be about 20 cents, but I don't think it will go back to 10 cents
per egg or S$1 for 12," he said.
Still prices should come down and stabilise after a while. -
CNA