Supermarts, retail stores in five states face egg shortage

KUALA LUMPUR: The supply of eggs in supermarkets and retail stores in five states, namely Perak, Penang, Kelantan, Selangor and Melaka, is dwindling as many consumers and traders admit to the difficulty in securing daily supplies.

In PERAK, a survey by Bernama at a fresh food supermarket in Bandar Meru Raya, Ipoh there were no eggs on the shelves nor the storeroom, while some retail stores only offered limited quantities for purchase.

A grocery store worker, Muliadi Abdul Jalil, 32, said the lack of egg supply started about three months ago when the shop previously stocked 60 trays but now only received half the order, or less.

According to another grocery store worker, Fikri Abdul Rahman, 23, the premises now only received less than half of its normal supply of 150 trays, with an average of about 60 trays.

In PENANG, a restaurant operator in Bandar Perda, Azhar Basirun, 59, said he needed at least 60 eggs for his business every day, but had to go hunting at many retail stores as traders limited purchases to only 10 eggs per person.

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Consumer Muhammad Haris Omar, 42, also admitted that the supply of eggs was limited and the price was higher than usual, hence he hoped that the problem could be resolved soon by the authorities because eggs were among the cheaper sources of nutrition for B40 families.

A chicken egg dealer in the market in Kepala Batas, Amirul Muizz, 45, said his supply had been reduced by more than half the usual, and sometimes, there were no eggs sent by the wholesaler.

In KELANTAN, a survey at some grocery shops and supermarkets found there was a lack of the usual supply of eggs, with the options available being Omega and sandy eggs, which were more costly.

A supermarket worker in Bandar Baru, Hassan Basri, 27, said a supply of sandy and Omega eggs just arrived at his workplace today, but he expected the stock to be sold out today itself.

A bakery entrepreneur Nadia Bustamam, 34, said previously, a shortage of normal eggs had affected her business operations because she believed some types of cakes could not use eggs other than the brown-coloured variety.

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Meanwhile, in SELANGOR, a survey around Shah Alam found that eggs were scarce for the past few months, especially in areas far from the city centre.

Housewife Rosliza Abdul Samad, 40, said the lack in supply of the protein source forced her to go to a supermarket further away from her housing area and had to settle for Omega-type eggs which were much more expensive because it was difficult to find regular eggs.

In MELAKA, nasi lemak trader Muhammad Ismail Sulaiman, 40, from Klebang Pengkalan Rama said he too had faced difficulty finding eggs, which affected his sales.

"Sometimes I have to search in more than five shops for eggs and there are also grocery shops or supermarkets that limit sales for each buyer. In addition to the shortage, the eggs sold are mostly B-grade, which is more expensive...but I have no choice," he lamented.

Tan Hock Seng, 34, from Bachang also admitted to facing a similar predicament, as eggs at the nearby grocery store often ran out of stock, and sometimes, only had eggs on certain days.

-- BERNAMA