Chicken rice seller Warren Tan, 35, at his stall in New World Park. - Photo: LIM BENG TATT / The Star
GEORGE TOWN: It has been a roller-coaster ride for chicken rice seller Warren Tan when prices of the bird were floated beginning this month.
He had a good start when the whole chicken from his supplier was RM1 cheaper than the market rate.
Tan, 35, had just started his stall at a food court here late last month.
But soon, prices began to rise.
“In the beginning, I got my supplies for as low as RM8.20 per kg but it is now RM9.20 per kg.
“The difference in price may not seem a lot, but we cook about 40 chickens a day, so it adds up,” he said.
Each chicken, he said, would weigh between 1.6kg and 1.8kg.
“When this is totalled up, that RM1 difference means over RM1,000 in costs for me by end of the month,” he lamented.
Tan said he did not switch supplier as the current one could provide him with the specific chicken he needed for his recipe.
“The chicken is of a particular breed and specially slaughtered for us.
“They’re slightly smaller than normal but much more tender, and I have to get it from him because only he can commit to our needs,” said Tan, who inherited the recipe from his late grandfather who was a Hainanese chef.
He said he was glad to have the chance to use his grandfather’s traditional style of preparing chicken rice and would strive to keep his prices low.
“My aim is to maintain my price so that customers can continue to enjoy this meal, but at the same time, I am hoping that costs will be manageable,” he said.
Prior to the floating of chicken prices, the government set the ceiling price for fresh whole bird at RM9.40 per kg.
Since this month, the price was floated following the removal of related subsidies.
Chicken seller T. Sham Kumar, 34, said he gets his whole chicken for RM7.50 per kg from his supplier but complies with the general pricing of RM9.40 per kg to consumers.
“Even during the recent Deepavali, we maintained the price of RM9.40 per kg for whole chicken, and we will continue to do so.
“Chicken is probably the most common meat product consumed by everyone and it must always be affordable,” he said.
