Hot spell affecting vegetables supply

A trader weighing some vegetables at Larkin market here in Johor Baru.

JOHOR BARU: The current hot and dry spell has contributed to the rise in the price of some vegetables and also a shortage of quail.

Sellers claimed that the hot spell had affected their supplies with many saying that farms were experiencing water shortages.

A check by Star Metro at four wet markets here in Kipmart, Larkin, Taman Johor Jaya and Tebrau showed that the prices of cucumber, long beans and spinach has shown the most increase, between 18% and 43%.

A trader at Larkin market, G. Muthusamy, 56, said that the price of cucumbers had risen by 33.3% from RM1.50 to RM2 per kg.

“The price of cucumbers has continued to increase since last month and my supplier from Kulai told me that the farm was dry because of the hot weather,” he said.

Another trader in Taman Johor Jaya market who wanted to be known only as Ella, 50, said the prices of long beans had gone up by 43% since last month, from RM3.50 to RM5 per kg.

“I have been a vegetable trader for so many years and usually, during the hot weather season, the prices of vegetables will always be changing,” she said.

Trader Azaraai Ismail, 60, said there was also an increase in the price of spinach by 18.42%, from RM3.80 to RM4.50 per kg.

“It is common for the prices of vegetables to rise during the hot weather,” he said.

Meanwhile, there have been no changes to other vegetable prices such as red and green chillies (at RM7 per kg), cauliflower (RM7 per kg) and ladies fingers (RM6.90 per kg).

The price of chicken remained at RM7.50 per kg.

A meat trader who wanted to be known only as Mamat, 37, from Larkin said that there has been a shortage of quail from his supplier in Pontian.

He said the dry and hot weather had affected the breeding of the birds.

“It has been a week since this problem had started and my supplier has not been able to tell me when supply will resume,” he added.

However, quail meat was available at the Johor Jaya market but the supply was limited.