BAD weather is driving price hikes for several types of vegetables sold in Malaysia, farmers and wholesalers said.

They said the prices of tomatoes, okra, cucumbers, eggplants and long beans have gone up due to the rainy weather and floods, but suspect they will get cheaper as the weather improves.

Kuala Lumpur Vegetable Wholesalers’ Association president Wong Keng Fatt said his members had to sell their vegetables at high prices as the wet spell continues to affect crops.

He said floods and heavy rain since October have sent vegetable prices soaring.

Some crops were damaged during the floods, he said. To make it worse, the lack of sunshine affects production.

“We are finding it difficult to sell the vegetables as not many people want to buy when prices are high.

“Even morning markets have stopped selling certain vegetables because prices are high and people don’t want to buy, “ he told The Malaysian Insight.

He said that there are more than 100 different types of vegetables, but only the prices of about seven or eight types have gone up.

Wong compared the current wholesale and retail prices of several types of vegetables to their prices last year:

• Tomatoes (RM8 last year): Wholesale RM10-10.50, retail RM15
• Okra (RM8 last year): Wholesale RM13-14, retail RM18-20
• Long beans (RM7-8 last year): Wholesale RM11-12, retail RM15
• Cucumbers (RM5 last year): Wholesale RM7.50, retail RM10

On Wednesday, Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president Mohideen Abdul Kader said the prices of several vegetables skyrocketed by more than 160% in the last month. 

He urged the government to act against traders who hike their prices excessively and violate the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011. 

According to the CAP, the price of okra increased by 166% from RM6 per kg last month to RM16 per kg this month, while long beans doubled in price from RM6 per kg to RM12 per kg this month.

Mohideen said tomatoes have gone up from RM4.50 per kg to RM10 per kg (a 120% increase), and eggplants from RM7 per kg to RM12 per kg (a 71% increase). 

Price drop

Wong said that government assistance is needed so vegetables are not priced above the people’s reach. 

He said previously, retailers would buy up to 10 boxes of tomatoes wholesale, but they now buy fewer boxes. 

Business has dwindled by 20% since certain vegetables are in short supply, he said.

“We hope the government can assist us. This situation will affect the B40 group as they will not be able to afford the vegetables.”

The Federation of Vegetable Farmers Associations said prices that have shot up since the start of the year could drop when the weather starts to improve next month.

Its president Lim Ser Kwee agreed vegetable cost hikes were due to floods and lack of sunlight.

“Once the weather improves, we should see a decline in prices. Hopefully by this month or the next. 

“We have more than 100 (types of) vegetables and only the prices of certain vegetables have gone up. We hope the people can be patient.”

He said previously, farmers could harvest 10 baskets of long beans from an acre of land, but now struggle to fill three baskets. 

“We are at a loss as to why we can’t produce enough vegetables. We have overheads such as utilities, compost, weed killer, workers’ wages, transport, and other costs to deal with,” he said. – February 3, 2023.