Kueh Xiu Qing and Ng Hui Ying, Straits Times 14 Mar 10;
The prices of greens, both imported and locally grown, have been going up in the past month, along with the bad weather.
There is a drought in Malaysia while in China, a cold snap there has reduced the inflow of veggies here.
One stall owner said he has had no choice but to up the price of imported kai lan, a popular vegetable here, by a whopping 75 per cent.
Mr Victor Chia, 33, owner of Chia's Vegetables Supply at Tekka Centre wet market, said: 'I was charging $4 per kg for kai lan, but my price is now $7. If the supplier raises his price again, I have no choice but to follow suit.'
Most of the kai lan sold here comes from China.
Prices of other imported leafy vegetables, such as caixin and xiao bai cai, have also gone north.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said nearly 50 per cent of the imported vegetables are from Malaysia while some 26 per cent comes from China. They are the biggest exporters.
A Sunday Times check with 15 wholesalers which get their supplies from these two countries showed price hikes from 15 per cent to 100 per cent.
One importer, who declined to be named, said the previous price quoted to him for spring onions was $1.50 per kg. It is now $3.
Mr Desmond Lim, 28, Lim Thiam Chwee Food Supplier's marketing manager, said: 'The drought in Malaysia has led to a 30 per cent increase in the prices quoted to us.'
At MP Projects Company, another importer, the selling price of imported watercress has increased to $23 per carton, a 15 per cent hike.
It all means retail vendors and consumers are hit too.
To try and keep prices down, wholesalers are trying to get more supplies from their other sources - countries such as Thailand, Australia and even the United States.
Local vegetable farms, mostly in the Lim Chu Kang area, which have been feeling the heat, report low yields, especially for leafy greens which need plenty of water to thrive.
'Yields at my farm have fallen by as much as 10 per cent to 20 per cent,' said Mr William Huang, 26, business development manager of Kok Fah Technology Farm.
Most local farms have resorted to various measures to combat the drought.
Oh Chin Huat Hydroponic Farms now uses shading nets to cover the vegetable plots in its green houses to cut down on the heat.
At Bollywood Veggies, crops are now watered twice a day by the sprinkler system, for 20 to 30 minutes each time, compared with once a day before the drought.
All these add to costs.
'The prices of many vegetables have gone up a lot. Caixin has easily risen by about 25 per cent.
'Before, I paid my supplier roughly $4.50 per kg; now I pay $6,' said one retail vendor at Tekka Centre, who wanted to be known only as Richard.
Ultimately, the consumer pays more too.
Madam Ong Leck Teng, 60, who frequents Geylang Serai wet market, said: 'What can we do? Vegetables are a necessity, and we need them in our dishes every day.
'So we just have to bear with it and hope prices go down soon.'
She might still have some way to wait. Despite a slight dip in vegetable prices over the past few weeks, as a result of better weather conditions, they are not back to normal.
Said Mr Chia, the retail vendor: 'It'll probably take another two to three weeks.'
