Prices of daily essentials expected to stabilise

BUKIT MERTAJAM: The prices of daily necessities are expected to fully stabilise by next month or February, said Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Rosol Wahid.

While carrying out monitoring and inspection, the department found that the prices of goods have begun to stabilise with vegetables showing a drop in prices.

This, he said, was due to several factors such as an improvement in the weather at the production area.

“Besides that, the Malaysian Family Sales Programme (PJKM), which offers daily necessities at prices up to 20% cheaper than market price, and efforts to import frozen chicken, are also among the factors why prices are stabilising.”

“We expect (prices of goods) to stabilise again by January or February,” Bernama quoted him as saying to reporters here yesterday after launching the PKJM which was held at the Seberang Perai Tengah district mosque in Perda.

Rosol said the PJKM which was launched on Dec 2 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, had been implemented in 15 parliamentary constituencies nationwide so far.

As of Friday, sales revenue from the programme was RM423,844.

He said the programme, planned for twice a month, had received encouraging response from the public.

As of Friday, he said about 28,000 visitors had attended the programme to buy daily necessities such as chicken, fish, eggs, vegetables, cooking oil, sugar, flour and rice.

He said the implementation of PJKM, conducted by the ministry, was held as a government initiative to help ease the cost of living, especially among those with low income and to address the situation of rising prices of goods.

“The programme is implemented in all 222 parliamentary constituencies nationwide until March next year, and if there is a need after that, we may continue but even if prices have stabilised we will continue to monitor the situation,” he said.