Prices of plastic bags in Johor Baru have started falling, bringing relief to traders after a brief spike from April to June of this year.
Vegetable seller Phua Ming Hui said that while savings from the lower prices seemed modest, they offered relief to small business owners.
“This eases our financial burden slightly in the long run,” he said when met at his stall in the Taman Perling public market.
He said the sudden price surge – driven by the Middle-East conflict – had squeezed profit margins.
Phua recalled that a 1kg roll of plastic bags cost RM9 in March before jumping to RM11.70 in April, and then dropping to RM11 in July.
The price of plastic bags measuring 50.8cm x 60.96cm had also gone down, from RM5 to RM4.50 per kg, he said, adding that he used 5kg of plastic bags each week.
Poultry seller Nor Mohd Azahari Yoso agreed that even a minimal price drop meant a great deal to petty traders like himself.
“My weekly plastic bag costs dropped from RM160 to between RM125 and RM130,” he said of his use of 20kg of the bags in different sizes.
Nor Mohd Azahari added that he could not raise prices for consumers when plastic bags were costly, because chicken prices had remained stable in recent years.
Johor Bumiputra Consumer Association chairman Syed Abdullah Syed Mohamed expects public market traders to eventually align with hypermarket practices.
“The day will come when public market traders no longer give away free plastic bags,” he said.
Syed Abdullah said consumers should bring their own reusable bags when shopping at public markets.
