PETALING JAYA: The vicious cycle between the oversupply of vegetables and low demand is likely to happen annually, especially during festive periods, say farmers.
At present, they said low demand and limited purchasing power have led to stockpiling of crops at the farms.
Federation of Vegetable Farmers Associations president Lim Ser Kwee said these problems would repeat annually as farmers could not reduce their harvest to avoid disrupting the market’s supply and demand.
“When there’s an oversupply of vegetables, farmers are forced to discard them because they can’t find buyers. Even donations to charitable organisations can’t use up all the surplus,” he said.
He said the present bumper crop was also caused by torrential rain that followed a hot spell.
Furthermore, he said consumers’ buying power is low.
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“The market is further saturated with imported vegetables, leading to a drop in vegetable prices.
“Once the festive period is over and market demand goes up, prices would go up too. But the farmers would become the target of blame,” he said in an interview.
Federation of Vegetable Farmers Associations Youth chief Tan Chee Kiong said his farm in Tangkak, Johor, produces 18 tonnes of vegetables a day.
However, with the market closing for two days during Hari Raya, he said he faces a loss of 36 tonnes of vegetables, which remain unsold.
“They will just wither in the fields. It’s a recurring problem for vegetable farmers who can’t reduce planting.
“Without a government mechanism to calculate the production of various vegetables nationwide, farmers have to plant based on what the market is short of. But once demand drops, we suffer losses,” said Tan.
He said there is only a limited quantity of vegetables exported to Singapore because the market there is not large.
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“Northern farmers can’t sell their vegetables to Thailand but can only transport them to Kuala Lumpur. As such, vegetable prices keep dropping and farmers keep losing money,” he said.
Tan dismissed talk that vegetable prices would “skyrocket” shortly after the Hari Raya celebrations, saying that a slight increase could be expected but not excessively.
He attributed this to farm workers – who are mostly foreigners – who would be away for their Hari Raya break.
As for the present abundance of vegetables, he appealed for public understanding, saying that he could deliver vegetables to some groups that need them.
Cameron Highlands Vegetable Growers Association deputy president Lau Weng Soow concurred that they are open to any organisation that wants to take them at no charge.
Otherwise, he said the crops would normally be disposed of.
“We are already making losses on surplus vegetables, and because of the distance, we cannot afford additional transportation cost to send vegetables to other states, let alone the labour cost to harvest and package them.
“It’s regrettable to have to discard vegetables,” he said.
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His farm can only harvest 50% of the vegetables, he said, with the remaining ones being left to rot in the fields.
He said the rain in the past week, coupled with sufficient sunlight, had led to a general bumper crop.
Mydin managing director Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin said the oversupply of vegetables ahead of festivities is a normal situation, assuring that it would eventually stabilise.
He predicted that there could even be a shortage of vegetables a few days or weeks after Hari Raya but that there would always be alternative vegetables that are imported.
“We import greens such as cabbages and cauliflowers, among others. But the import will only happen when the domestic supply is not enough,” he added.
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Ameer said the overdependence on foreign workers is the main factor that would lead to such a situation repeating annually.“But I believe that this is only temporary,” he added.
Kuala Lumpur Vegetable Wholesalers Association president Wong Keng Fatt agreed that the price of vegetables may see a slight increase after Hari Raya.
He said among vegetables that are in abundance are tomatoes and other leafy vegetables, as the present weather is “suitable” for them.
“The climate is suitable for growing vegetables, but most people consume more meat and fish than vegetables during the fasting month.
“However, we expect the demand to normalise a few weeks after Hari Raya,” he said when contacted.
For now, he said there is no demand for vegetables, even for imported ones.
