SEREMBAN, Feb 11 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security will overcome the problem of shortage of workers which is one of the factors causing the lack of supply of chicken eggs ahead of Ramadan and Aidilfitri, said its minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.

He said to overcome the problem, his ministry together with the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN) and the Ministry of Human Resources are working to increase the number of workers in the agricultural sector and other sectors.

"My ministry is dealing with it (the problem of chicken egg supply), indeed every time before a festival, the consumption of chicken eggs is higher, this problem of egg shortage is also faced by other countries.

"The concern remains, as soon as Ramadan comes, the use of eggs and other ingredients will increase, that's why we have to discuss with the egg suppliers to double the production from now, that's what we hope.

"If they don't have enough workers, we will try to provide an easy way to increase workers, the main problem for entrepreneurs besides the increase in food prices is the lack of workers," he told reporters after officiating the International Conference on Palestine Kuala Lumpur (ICPKL) 2023 here today.

Mohamad said this in commenting on a local media reports about the complaints of Aidilfitri cake makers who are worried that their businesses will be affected due to shortage of chicken eggs  ahead of the upcoming Aidilfitri festival season.

Meanwhile, Mohamad said the Malaysian government will continue to support and speak out in fighting for the rights of the Palestinian people.

He said programmes about awareness of fighting for the Palestinian people need to continue and that now more non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from European countries are providing support to the Palestinian people.

"Members of Parliament in Europe also dare to condemn the attitude of their governments which continue to help the Israeli government which kills Palestinians every day," he said.

Meantime, ICPKL 2023 Advisor Dr Fauziah Mohd Hasan said a total of 500 delegates from 20 countries participated in today's programme themed 'The Caged Eye', which is symbolic of solidarity with the suffering of Palestinian prisoners locked up in the prisons of the Zionist regime.

Dr Fauziah said a total of 4,450 Palestinians were imprisoned by the Zionist regime, including 160 children and 32 women.

-- BERNAMA