Jalan Tengku Kelana, also known as Klang’s Little India.
KLANG: There may be less muruku to feast on during the upcoming Deepavali due to its ingredients seeing price hikes.
Vendors and suppliers reckon escalating prices of essential ingredients are forcing many to cut down on festive goodies.
T. Premalatha, who makes these items for sale every Deepavali, including muruku, said the high cost of rice has forced her to increase her prices.
“If in the past I charged RM100 for a big tin, I would have had to increase the price to RM120 this year.
“It is also because of the increase in cooking oil prices,” she added.
Muruku is made of rice and lentil flour, then deep-fried.
T. Siva, who manages a business that makes omapodi mixture (savoury lentil-based snacks mixed with nuts) for the festive season, said he increased his price from RM3.50 per 250g to RM5.
“Besides an increase in the price of lentils, wheat flour and oil, even the price of raw chilli powder has shot up from RM20 per kg to RM25 per kg,” he said.
“Since we use chili powder in the preparation, we have no choice but to increase our price.”
Supermarket owner Charles Manickam said many retailers had resorted to selling pre-prepared ingredients for festive goodies at cost to woo customers.
“We cannot further increase the price as it will turn people away from buying.
“By forgoing our profits, they will at least buy the items, as well as other things from our outlets,” he said.
Manickam, who is also the Entrepreneurs Association of Little India Klang president, said many retail outlets selling essential goods are doing the same.
Not only essential ingredients for food items are seeing a price hike, even textiles and traditional attire have been affected. Many people are turning to other sources to buy their festive outfits.
Datin R. Maheswary, who manages a textile outlet, said retail outlets have to pay rent, staff salaries, utilities and high taxes unlike these other sources, which are mostly home-based without much overhead.
She added that cheaper flights to India and visa-free travel have also prompted many Malaysians to shop in India while on vacation.
Maheswary, who is also secretary-general of the Malaysian Indian Textiles and General Stores Association, said prices of goods have increased due to tax hikes in India, higher import taxes for Malaysians, as well as a rise in logistics costs.
“Product prices increase as a chain reaction of other costs going up. However, we still managed to get cheaper clothing for those who cannot afford to spend more,” she said.
She added that there have been “drastic changes” in shopping habits unlike the previous years where people start shopping two months ahead.
“Consumers’ purchasing power has dropped a lot. They are spending money on basic needs like food, home, education and medical expenses. Clothes are a luxury.
“With more carnivals being organised, shoppers are also going there, and that affects our retail business.
“However, the collections we have in retail shops are huge. This year, the trend is palazzo suits, long dresses, kurtis and leggings, Aliya cut suits, salwar kameez and designer suits, among others.
“We still bring in sarees, dothis and other products at a cheaper range.
“Deepavali is a season for everyone to celebrate, so we sell at the lowest price possible to ensure consumers are satisfied with their purchase,” she said.
Meanwhile, S. Sundar, who supplies Indian apparel and sarees to online sellers, said contrary to popular belief, the sale of Deepavali clothing on social media platforms has dipped by at least 30%.
“We don’t know the reason as we have kept the cost as low as possible. We still have a lot of stock that we brought in for this year’s Deepavali,” said Sundar, who also supplies to retail outlets.
He said people could be tightening their belts as some may be facing financial uncertainties.
