Huat Lai Resources Bhd, one of Malaysia’s largest egg and poultry producers, won praise today from international NGO Lever Foundation for its new plans to develop the country’s largest cage-free egg production facility.
Set to launch in Q4 2025, the expansive Malacca operation will house 200,000 layers in a multi-tier aviary system, positioning the company at the forefront of sustainable egg production in Southeast Asia.
The transformative project represents a significant expansion of Huat Lai’s cage-free operations, which began with its Singapore subsidiary, Chew’s Agriculture Pte Ltd, in 2012.
From its humble beginnings over 30 years ago as a modest poultry farm, Huat Lai has grown into one of Malaysia’s leading poultry producers.
Ten of its egg production barns, which together house 200,000 birds, will transition to cage-free systems over the next few months, creating what will be Malaysia’s largest cage-free egg operation.
The new facility will more than quadruple the company’s current cage-free capacity of 60,000 hens, creating a more affordable and reliable cage-free egg supply chain for the Malaysian and overseas markets.
“In the past two to three years, we’ve seen a remarkable shift in corporate demand for cage-free eggs,” said Edvin Lim, Business Development Manager of Huat Lai Group.
While consumers have long shown interest in animal welfare and sustainable sourcing, the corporate sector—hotels and retailers in particular—have driven the recent surge in demand.
“Clients now expect 100% cage-free supply once they make the switch, including shell, liquid, and powder egg.”
Dozens of food companies in the country have committed to sourcing only cage-free eggs, including retailers such as MYDIN, Jaya Grocer, AEON Malaysia and Village Grocer, hospitality groups such as Sunway Hotels & Resorts and Hatten Hotels, and restaurant brands such as Old Town White Coffee and O’Brien’s.
“Huat Lai’s evolution from a small family business to becoming Malaysia’s pioneer in large-scale cage-free egg production demonstrates remarkable entrepreneurial vision,” said Bagas Kusuma Jati, Sustainable Supply Chain Manager at Lever Foundation, which worked with Huat Lai on its cage-free egg expansion.
Their commitment to maintaining core values while boldly investing in sustainable production systems is an excellent model for the industry.
“The courage to make such significant infrastructure investments ahead of market demand reflects the forward-thinking leadership needed throughout Southeast Asia’s food production sector.”
You need to take a bold move before your clients demand it. Our new facility in Malaysia will allow us to supply cage-free eggs at a larger scale, ensuring a consistent supply for our clients,” Edvin Lim explained.
He further noted that corporate customers transitioning to cage-free sourcing “rarely return to traditional caged eggs.”
Meanwhile, Daniel Lim, Sales Manager of Huat Lai, said, “We are going beyond providing steady and reliable food sources to the nation. With the cage-free initiative, we are setting meaningful standards for Malaysia’s poultry industry.”
A survey conducted by the leading Asian consumer research agency GMO Research found that 77% of Malaysian consumers believe that eggs sourced by restaurants, retailers, packaged food producers, and similar businesses should come from cage-free hens.
The survey also found that 62% of consumers are willing to pay more for cage-free eggs, with more than half accepting a cost premium of 10-25%.
Cage-free egg production, in which hens are given the freedom to move in open environments, improves animal welfare and food quality.
Exhaustive research by the European Food Safety Authority found that cage-free egg farms have up to a 25 times lower rate of contamination by key Salmonella strains.
An increasing number of consumers have also been leaving eggs off their plates as the best way to help laying hens.
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