SHAH ALAM (Aug 28): QL Resources Bhd (KL:QL) said on Thursday it has raised egg prices by five sen following the removal of government subsidies to protect its profit margins. 

Group chief executive officer Chia Song Kooi said this price increase passes the extra cost to consumers without hurting the company’s profits. He expects demand to stay strong because eggs are still a cheap source of protein. 

“In the long run, I think the removal of egg subsidies is healthier for the poultry industry because production will be in line with market forces," Chia added.

Malaysia phased out its egg subsidy in 2025, reducing it from 10 sen to five sen per egg on May 1 before fully removing it on Aug 1. The government said the subsidy removal was to save money for other needs and to help keep the local egg industry strong, as prices had become stable after earlier global increases.

Chia remains optimistic about the Malaysian egg market, citing lower feed costs and the strengthening ringgit. He added that Vietnam’s egg prices are expected to recover, while Indonesia’s weak demand is likely to persist.

“Perhaps in the future, we might consider expanding into the Philippines, because it is a good market. But sometimes, due to the country’s risk, we have to take that into consideration,” he said.

The egg business falls under QL’s integrated livestock farming division, its largest revenue contributor. For the financial year ended March 31, 2025, the segment contributed about 52% of group revenue.

For the first quarter ended June 30, 2025, QL’s earnings were 9% lower year-on-year, mainly due to earnings pressure from lower prices of farm produce across all farming operations caused by weak market sentiment. Its layer operations in Peninsular Malaysia were also affected by an oversupply of smaller eggs from an expanded layer population, as well as the earlier five sen subsidy cut under the price ceiling mechanism.

At the time of writing on Thursday, QL’s share price was unchanged at RM4.15, giving it a market capitalisation of RM15.15 billion. 

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