After Malaysia announced an export ban on chicken effective June 1, some Singaporeans rushed out and decided to stock up. Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in a statement on Monday (May 23), “The government’s priority is our own people.” The ban is to ensure that Malaysians have enough supply.
Some wet markets and supermarkets saw a run on fresh chicken after the announcement from Malaysia. A May 25 Straits Times report said that at wet markets in Bedok, Ghim Moh, Bishan and MacPherson, chickens had sold out by 9:30 in the morning, several hours before it normally does.
However, many netizens have been puzzled at the panic buying of chicken. Indeed, a whole Reddit thread has been dedicated to the phenomenon, with commenters wondering why fresh chicken is being hoarded, only to be frozen at home, when there is still a supply of frozen chicken available.
“Why are ppl always so reactive?” one Redditor asked.
While hoarding non-perishable items, such as toilet paper, may be understandable, one commenter wrote, “Chicken leh? Wtf that is like so dumb. Even the 70 year old retiree also has the mental cognisance that store too long not fresh also,” wrote another.
And hoarding fresh chicken only works if people have the freezer capacity for it, of course.
But, as one Redditor put it, “Then might as well buy frozen chickens next week rather than hoarding all these fresh chickens to freeze at home?”
Another asked, “Is there really a difference in taste between these kind of fresh chickens (bought & stored in home freezer) vs store-bought frozen chicken?”
One wrote that industrially frozen chicken is actually better.
Another Redditor said that it has to do with what people have become familiar with, especially those from older generations.
However, other commenters insisted that fresh chicken, even when frozen at home, just tastes better than if bought frozen at the supermarket.
/TISG
Singapore, get ready to pay more for your chicken rice! — Malaysia bans chicken export