The owner of the popular eatery Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice said he would stop serving chicken dishes if it could not get fresh supplies. He vowed to “bring back dishes like fried tofu, fried pork chop and prawn salad, but we will not use frozen chicken”.
The Malaysian prime minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, announced last week that the country would block exports of 3.6 million chickens a month from 1 June to stabilise supply at home. The ban is expected to lead to price increases and shortages in Singapore, which relies upon Malaysia for a third of its poultry imports.
On Tuesday, queues formed outside popular food stalls as the public rushed to buy dishes before the ban was imposed, while local media reported that some supermarkets and wet markets had sold out of chicken.
Daniel Tan, the owner of a chain of seven stalls called OK Chicken Rice, told Reuters that Malaysia’s ban would be “catastrophic” for vendors.
“The ban would mean we are no longer able to sell. It’s like McDonald’s with no burgers,” he said.
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