Cold snap drives up prices of some veggies

Bumper harvest: Leafy greens, such as sawi and siew pak choy, are spared from recent woes.

IPOH: Prices for tomatoes, chillies and capsicum from Cameron Highlands are to go up by nearly 70% soon due to low harvests as a result of cold temperatures and pest infestations.However, prices for leafy greens such as sawi (mustard greens), siew pak choy (bok choy), and iceberg lettuce are going down as there was a bumper harvest for these crops.

Cameron Highlands Vegetable Growers Association secretary Chay Ee Mong said vegetables such as tomatoes, french beans, chillies, capsicum, Japanese cucumber, and spinach are affected by the cold snap.

“Fruit flies and the low temperatures are affecting the crops. Harvests for such vegetables are low, as farmers need to spend more to protect the crops from being damaged,” he told The Star.

Chay said the temperature is 22ºC during the day and between 15ºC and 16ºC at night.

Such temperatures and a balanced mix of rain and sunshine were perfect growing conditions for leafy vegetables, he said.

“That is why some agricultural produce will be negatively affected by low temperatures while others may thrive as the weather is suitable for fruiting, as long as there is no consistent downpour.

“The prices of sawi, siew pak choy, and iceberg lettuce are low at the moment, as the weather is suitable, and there are also no issues of pests attacking such leafy vegetables,” he added.

He said the price of the green capsicum is more than RM10 per kg, while the yellow and red ones could reach up to RM15.

Chillies are about RM7.50 per kg, french beans about RM7, and tomatoes about RM5.

Kinta Vegetable Wholesalers Association chairman Tan Peng Kiang said the prices for leafy vegetables have come down.

He said just last month, the price of sawi was at RM5 per kg, but currently, it is as low as RM1.

“As for the siew pak choy, it is between RM2.50 and RM3, compared to RM5 just last month.

“As for the other vegetables, the crops are not that good at the moment due to the weather and the pest issues.

“Thus there is a shortage of tomatoes, chilies and other vegetables affected by the low temperatures in Cameron Highlands.

“Sometimes these vegetables do not even reach Ipoh and are instead sent to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore,” he said.