JOHOR BARU: A shortage of banana leaves has forced kuih bakul or nian gao proprietor Datuk B. Balamurali to pay a higher price to get the items to make his Chinese New Year cake.
He said that due to the shortage, the price of banana leaves has increased to RM40 from the usual RM33 per bundle.
He added that while it was normal for banana leaves to be in demand during the festive season, some unscrupulous suppliers were taking advantage of the situation by limiting the stock in the market.
“Even after paying so much for a bundle of about 300 pieces of leaves, usually half of them are withered and have holes, and cannot be used anymore,” he said at his production outlet in Jalan Bakawali 52, Taman Johor Jaya, here, yesterday.
The 46-year-old father of four said he gets his supply of banana leaves from Pontian but the supplier had failed to make deliveries several times because of the shortage.
“I have to look for the leaves at markets and hypermarkets and it costs more there. I believe a lot of traders selling nasi lemak and ang koo kueh (a type of Chinese kuih made with glutinous rice flour and bean paste filling) also face the same problem, especially during the festive season,” he added.
He said he has maintained the price of his 300gm kuih bakul at RM8 but the 600gm ones are RM15 a piece compared with RM13 last year.
Balamurali, who is a full-time property agent, has been converting his office to a kuih bakul production centre a month before Chinese New Year since 1998.
He recruits about 40 part-time workers of all races to help with the making and packaging of some 3,000 pieces of the sticky kuih daily, traditionally consumed during Chinese New Year as well as used for prayers.
After Chinese New Year, Balamurali resumes his real estate business.
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