Hard to say no to: Afif Fahimi says despite the new tax, he believes Malaysians will not stop consuming sugary drinks or food, especially cakes and pastries. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: Food and beverage operators will not reduce their usage of sugar despite the implementation of the sugar tax next year, but for now, they will maintain their prices.
A coffee shop owner who requested anonymity said the increase in the excise duty on sugar would surely affect traders like him.
“The new tax will not only increase the price of beverages, but will also have a domino effect on other food items,” he said.
He said he would try not to hike his prices yet, but could be forced to do it if it was too much to bear.
“Some may think an increase of 10sen is a small amount, but for small traders like me, it is quite high overall,” he added.
Cafe owner Afif Fahimi Mohamad Aris said despite the new tax, he felt Malaysians would not stop consuming sugary drinks or food, especially cakes and pastries.
“From my experience, my customers will still come and buy cakes and sugary beverages. Most people love all things sweet,” he said.
Afif Fahimi said for the time being, he would not increase the price of drinks and pastries in his cafe, and would wait and see how the situation pans out first.
“I don’t use sugar a lot, actually. For example, to make coffee taste better, I need to have good coffee beans and quality fresh milk to make it tasty. It’s not all about sugar,” he said.
Popular dessert franchise Mokti’s Ice-Cream said the company would try to reduce the usage of sugar products given the tax hike.
Its founder Siti Fatimah Adnan said the latest announcement would affect the company as sugar was the main ingredient in its offerings.
“We expect sales to be affected a bit next year. We will try, however, to make our products without too much sugar, but it will cost more.
“One way is using sugar-free or artificial ingredients, but they are more expensive than raw sugarcane.
“There is another method using fresh or frozen fruits.
“We need quite a lot to extract the sweetness from fruits and this is very costly,” she said.
