Chicken run: Hawker loses $3,000 a month after switching to kampung type, will be shutting stall

The export ban on fresh chickens from Malaysia has been dubbed the "chicken rice crisis", with hawkers of the beloved dish undoubtedly impacted by the shortage.

For one chicken rice seller who resorted to using fresh kampung chickens which cost $20 each, the move has resulted in him suffering losses of about $3,000 a month, reported Shin Min Daily News on Saturday (Aug 20).

The chicken rice seller, surnamed Liu, shared that he would be closing his stall at Telok Blangah Market from next Saturday (Aug 27) with the fate of his business hanging in the balance.

A Facebook user had shared the information on Facebook group Hawkers United 2020, indicating that Liu's stall was his "favourite chicken rice stall".

When interviewed by Shin Min Daily News, the 58-year-old hawker shared that he had been operating the stall at Telok Blangah Market for about eight years since since 2014, and had always been using fresh poultry.

Liu added that had closed his stall for two weeks when the ban was first implemented, until he was able to obtain a fresh supply of kampung chicken.

However, the experienced hawker pointed out that the cost of kampung chicken is much higher.

"Before [the ban], a chicken would go for about $5 per kilo with each chicken weighing between 1.8kg and 2kg, hence the cost of one chicken would usually not go beyond $12.

"But with kampung chicken, it costs about $20 for a one weighing about 1.4kg to 1.8kg," said Liu.

Due to the higher cost, Liu had to increase the price of his chicken rice from $3.50 to $4 for the small portion and up to $5 for the large portion.

A whole chicken would go for $32 instead of $28.

"The cost has gone up so I have to raise prices, but I don't dare to increase prices by too much because it'll be hard to sell," said Liu.

Liu shared that since the ban, his business has fallen by 40 per cent.

When he used to be able to sell 20 chickens a day, that number dropped to 10. Compounded by operating costs, Liu shared that he suffers about $3,000 in losses a month.

He intimated that he had tried using frozen chicken for week but stopped as the result was less than ideal.

"I can't serve something I don't think is good to my customers. Reputation is very important in business," he shared.

Liu told Shin Min that he was just 12 when he started helping out his father's chicken rice stall before eventually taking over the business.

The past 46 years saw the hawker moving from food centres and coffee shops in Lorong Ah Soo and Changi Village to Choa Chu Kang before settling in Telok Blangah.

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This is not the only setback he's gone through either, having survived other crisis such as the aviation influenza or bird flu outbreak which affected poultry sources in the region as well as the Sars crisis.

Liu shared that during the bird flu outbreak, he could only sell three to five chickens a day and had to pivot to selling bak kut teh to survive.

This time however, Liu has decided to take a break to cut his losses.

He added that he is reluctant to do so as well, due to the relationships he has built with his regular customers over the years. Knowing his decision to close temporarily, Liu shared that some customers have been patronising his stall every day.

However, with close to $2,000 in rental and miscellaneous fees to cough up every month, Liu said he would still have to earn a living by helping out at a friend's hawker stall for the time being.

Liu hasn't got a clear idea of what he plans to do next, indicating that he might continue the business once there's adequate supply of fresh chicken, or he may switch to selling something else.

As of Aug 4, Malaysia's Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries had commented that the export ban will still be in force for the time being.

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candicecai@asiaone.com