Straits Times 10 Dec 09;
PETALING JAYA: The prices of vegetables in Malaysia have soared by as much as 200 per cent in recent weeks due to heavy monsoon rainfall in the country and adverse weather conditions in countries where some greens are imported from.
Celery, tomatoes, mustard, onions and garlic have doubled in price, while the price of imported round cabbage has increased with the Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (Fama) slashing the monthly quota for importers.
Penang Vegetable Wholesalers Association chairman Tan Ban Ben said wholesalers obtained 80 per cent of their vegetables from Cameron Highlands in Pahang.
Peninsular Malaysia has been hit by heavy rain in the last several weeks, and lowland areas in Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan have been flooded.
He said the wholesale price of tomatoes was RM3 (S$1.25) per kg compared with RM1.50 about two months ago. Consumers have to pay more than RM4 per kg now for tomatoes.
He added that the price of Chinese cabbage was RM3.50 per kg in the market compared with about RM1.70 previously.
The wholesale price for celery has increased to RM5 per kg from about RM2.50 previously, and consumers have to pay RM6.
Mustard (sawi) is now between RM4 and RM5 per kg in the market, he said.
'I checked with importers who told me that their monthly quota of round cabbage has been slashed by 65 per cent since last month,' he added.
Mr Tan urged Fama to allow importers to import their quota under the old system, as this would help lower the price of the vegetable.
Mr S.K. Sundaram, chief executive of spice retail outlet Enrico Trading, said prices of onions and garlic have more than doubled in recent weeks.
He added that due to the shortage of garlic in China, the price is now RM5 per kg compared with RM2 about three months ago.
Mr Sundaram said onions were sold at RM3.50 per kg compared with RM1.50 per kg for the past one month due to floods in Indian onion farms.
He added that due to the shortage, onions were now being imported from Pakistan and China.
But the Federation of Malaysian Vegetable Growers Associations expects the prices of leafy vegetables to plummet once the weather improves.
'The price increase was inevitable due to the bad weather but it is only until the monsoons end, which we expect will be at the end of this month,' said association secretary Chay Ee Mong, in Petaling Jaya.
The recent floods in Terengganu have destroyed 1,439ha of rice and vegetable crops, resulting in RM5 million in losses, said state agriculture department director Yusoff Maidin.
THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, BERNAMA
