IPOH: Prolonged rainy weather in Cameron Highlands has slightly pushed up prices of several vegetables due to lower yield and disease outbreaks.
Malaysia Federation of Vegetable Farmers Associations secretary Tan Chee Kiong said crops such as mustard greens (sawi), cabbage, long beans and bitter gourd have been affected as persistent rain has reduced sunlight needed for normal growth.
He said several landslides, especially on the Tapah route to Camerons, was not helping either.
“When it rains continuously, the crops cannot get enough sunlight and cannot grow to their normal size. Disease outbreak is also more frequent during the rainy season, resulting in lower production,” he said yesterday.
Tan said farm gate prices for various types of sawi and cabbage have risen to between RM2.50 and RM3.50 per kilo, compared with RM1 to RM1.50 previously.
He said long beans are currently selling at RM6 to RM7 per kilo at the farm, up from about RM3 to RM4 previously, while bitter gourd has recorded a similar increase.
Although vegetable prices have risen, farmers are not necessarily making bigger profits as production has dropped significantly.
“If a farmer could previously harvest one tonne of sawi, continuous rain may reduce it to only 500kg or 600kg. Although prices are higher, the lower output means farmers earn about the same,” he said.
Tan added that vegetables transported from Cameron Highlands during prolonged wet weather are also more susceptible to damage, resulting in more produce being discarded.
Meanwhile, sweet potato farmers in Perak are facing a different challenge, with a surplus of produce, particularly accumulated over a month due to sluggish sales and competition from imports.
The association’s youth group secretary, Ng Yoon Thiam, is urging the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) to help sweet potato farmers amid an oversupply that has left many struggling to sell their produce.
“Farmers usually harvest sweet potatoes after about four-and-a-half to five months. Wholesalers are buying in smaller quantities, resulting in excess supply,” he said, adding that only five to six tonnes are being sold, down from 10 tonnes previously.
“Imported sweet potatoes, particularly from China and Indonesia, continue to flood our supermarkets despite ample local production.”
Meanwhile, flower growers in Cameron Highlands are also grappling with mounting losses due to weak demand, cheaper imports from China and Vietnam, rising production costs and unfavourable weather.
Cameron Highlands Floriculturist Association president Lee Peng Fo said production is down between 10% and 20% as many farmers have scaled back cultivation to minimise losses.
Chrysanthemums remained the main flower grown in Cameron Highlands, followed by roses.
“The market is very slow. The economy is not very good and demand for flowers has weakened,” he said.
Besides the domestic market, Cameron Highlands flowers are exported to Japan and Thailand. However, exports to Japan are no longer profitable due to unfavourable currency exchange rates.
According to him, locally grown chrysanthemums sell for between RM20 and RM30 per dozen, while imported flowers from Vietnam cost only RM6 to RM7 per dozen.
