Pomelos taking a pummelling in the heat

Shrunken fruits: Tambun Pomelo Growers Association chairman Chin Too Kam showing how the heatwave has resulted in pomelos growing smaller (left) than usual (right) at his farm in Tambun. — SAIFUL BAHRI/The Star

IPOH: Farmers in the Tambun area here are not pruning their pomelo trees as they do not want them to flower, and then wither and die in this hot weather.

Tambun Pomelo Growers Asso­ciation chairman Chin Too Kam said the production of pomelos had now fallen drastically and the price of the fruits was expected to go up.

Chin said most farmers in the area were expecting about a 40% drop in yield of the fruits in the coming months, between June and September.

He said pomelo growers were finding it hard to grow the fruits due to the hot weather.

“Many are not pruning their trees as they do not want them to flower. It’s not easy as it will incur extra costs on fertilisers and water, and there’s also the risk of the quality of the fruits being affected,” he added.

He said the lack of rainfall would affect the size of the pomelos.

While the fruits could fetch a good price, he said the production cost would be higher.

“It is a risk and we could end up making losses,” he said, adding that most of the growers preferred to slow down production.

Although there was no change in price for now, he added that it could go up soon.

“The price has remained the same since Chinese New Year,” he said.