JOHOR BARU: Consumers are told to brace for a possible price surge in fresh produce during the upcoming festive period as many farms in Johor have been destroyed by the floods.
State agriculture, agro-based industry and rural committee chairman Datuk Zahari Sarip said the unexpected floods which started on March 1 left the agricultural industry with huge losses of RM35.5mil to date.
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“This is just the early assessment as floods are still ongoing in districts like Batu Pahat and Muar so the figure is expected to go even higher.
“Many livestock, vegetables and fruit farmers had started making preparations for Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri months in advance without expecting the floods to take place because the monsoon season happens at the end of the year,” he said.
Zahari said this at a press conference after launching the FarmByte Food Hub programme in Ulu Tiram on Sunday (March 12).
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The natural disaster has threatened the state’s food security and the shortage of supply would lead to price increase in the coming weeks, said Zahari, who was also Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi’s official representative at the event.
He said initiatives such as FarmByte, run by a subsidiary company under Kulim (Malaysia) Bhd, could help the state government in stabilising the agrofood sector.
“The FarmByte Food Hub was established to consolidate and build the resilience of the sector, increase agricultural output and uplift the livelihoods of farmers and the wider community.
“It is a key part of the state’s strategy to develop a sustainable agrofood industry and I urge other government-linked companies and organisations to follow in similar footsteps to further strengthen Johor’s food security,” he added.
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