Dark clouds over production of greens

PETALING JAYA: Farmers are praying for sunny days ahead of Chinese New Year to ensure there is a sufficient supply of vegetables for the festival.

Federation of Vegetable Farmers Associations Malaysia secretary-general Chay Ee Mong said vegetable production nationwide had dropped by 30% to 40% due to bad weather.

“Production has been affected as it has been cloudy and raining a lot since last month.

“We hope the weather will improve soon so we can increase production and consumers can enjoy lower prices of vegetables during Chinese New Year,” he added.

Chay said prices for some vegetables such as cabbage, spinach and choy sum had gone up this month.

The price of cabbage had gone up by RM1.30 per kilo, from RM2.50 per kilo last month, to RM3.80 now.

The price for Chinese cabbage has gone up by 50 sen, from RM2 per kilo last month to RM2.50.

Vegetable importer Datuk Seri Teh Meng Huat said the most popular vegetables for Chinese New Year such as cauliflower, broccoli, carrot and leek were from China.

“With the weakening ringgit, prices of these vegetables will surely go up,” he said, adding that prices of imported vegetables had gone up by 30% since last October.

He said the price of imported cauliflower was RM3 per kilo during last year’s Chinese New Year.

It is now RM7 per kilo.

Teh said vegetable importers had reduced their supply for the local market due to higher cost and a drop in demand.