Vegetable prices soar due to wet season

(Far left) Esther says wholesalers set the price of vegetables.

CONSUMERS in Johor Baru district have to fork out extra money when buying vegetables as prices of the fresh produce in the area have increased following heavy rain in recent weeks.

Vegetable seller Esther Muniandy said customers usually had to pay more for vegetables during the rainy season or prolonged dry days.

“We (traders) cannot do much in terms of prices as supply is largely determined by weather conditions and prices set by wholesalers,” she explained at the Perling wet market in Johor Baru.

Prices of vegetables could increase by as much as 20%, she added.

Esther said at the moment, bittergourd would cost about RM6 per kg from RM3.50 in August while peria katak (balsam apple) had increased from RM4 to RM8 per kg and kangkung was RM5 instead of RM3.50.

She said eggplants were selling for RM11 from RM10 per kg last month, while kaffir lime had increased from RM4 to RM8.

“Spring onions have also increased to RM9.40 from RM3.50 per kg,” she noted.

Esther added that a box of 12kg of cauliflower now cost RM90 from RM45, while the price of broccoli in a 12kg box had jumped to RM50 from RM40.

Shahvilla Trading proprietor Vira Tarhin said fresh local red chillies from Batu Pahat and Kulai now cost about RM19 per kg, up from RM17.

He said while the price of fresh red chillies from Cameron Highlands was cheaper at RM14 per kg from RM11 last month, consumers in Johor preferred red chillies grown in Batu Pahat and Kulai.

“Sambal made using the Cameron Highlands red chillies is not as tasty as the ones made with red chillies from Batu Pahat and Kulai,” said Vira.

He added that apart from heavy rain and low harvest, Malaysia had stopped importing fresh red chillies from China, Thailand and Vietnam.

He said the price of both kangkung and spinach was now RM6 from RM3 per kg and cucumbers were selling for RM3.50 per kg from RM2.50.

Federation of Vegetable Farmers Association president Lim Ser Kwee said prices of vegetables in Johor were going up because of the heavy rain.

“Supply is largely determined by weather and we (growers) have no control over it,” he said.

Lim added that Johor and Pahang were the country’s two main vegetable producers in the country, with most farms located in Batu Pahat, Kulai and Simpang Renggam in Johor, as well as Cameron Highlands in Pahang.

“Farm owners are having difficulty hiring farmhands as locals are not interested in the job,” he shared.

Lim said they had no replacements for their Indonesian workers who returned to their country because of Covid-19, adding that some vegetable farms in Johor were left unattended as there were no workers to tend to them.