Sky-high vegetable prices bite consumers, retailers

KUALA LUMPUR – As consumers baulk at buying vegetables due to shelf prices hitting the roof, local retailers are appealing to suppliers to reduce wholesale prices to enable them to have some profit, and are calling on the authorities to intervene urgently.

Most of the vendors interviewed were clueless about what exactly had led to the situation that occurred suddenly and took them by surprise. 

Skyrocketing prices and economic slowdown have caused the public to become more frugal thus affecting retailers’ businesses.

The Consumers’ Association of Penang has raised the alarm by revealing from its ground findings that vegetable prices had gone up by as much as 160% in the past month.

Nyanasoundari, a seller at the Suntex wet market in Cheras, said this is the first time she has seen vegetable prices rising to such high levels in the 29 years that she has been involved in the business.

“Almost all the vegetable prices are rising so high that we have lost many of our customers now,” she said when approached by The Vibes.

Consumers do not want to buy a lot of vegetables since the prices are much higher than they expected.

“Moreover, not all consumers are rich enough to buy vegetables in the high range, causing us to struggle to run our businesses,” the 48-year-old said.

Another vegetable retailer who wished to be identified as Roslina said that prices had shot up overnight.  

“We as sellers did not expect the prices to go up like this – tomatoes are now about RM16 per kg and ladies’ fingers have risen from RM6 to RM16 per kg.

“This is actually quite shocking. How can it happen just like that?” she asked, lamenting that sales have gotten slower since then.

What is worse is that we need to sell the vegetables at extremely low prices to avoid the vegetables from decaying.

“We really do not know why this increase in prices happened,” she added.

Roslina said they heard that it was due to supply shortage caused by the floods, but maintained that “every problem has got a solution.”

“We want our wholesalers to find a solution to help us in order for us to run our businesses smoothly,” said the 50-year-old.

In December, Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub said the ministry had received reports of expensive vegetables, which were attributed to short supply due to year-end floodings in several states.

Must sell before vegetables rot

Expressing similar sentiments, Amirul Fitri, 41, who has been selling vegetables for the past 20 years, said that consumers do not want to buy in large quantities since prices have become steep.

Usually, a household will buy various vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, brinjals and so on, by as much as a kg for each. However, now this has changed. They are just buying a maximum of five tomatoes during each shopping trip.

“This hits us very badly,” he added, pointing out that traders cannot keep the perishables for a long time and need to sell everything as soon as they can.

To get rid of the vegetables before they rot, the retailers are forced to sell them cheaply or even give them away for free to customers.

“This is severely affecting us. Giving them away at low prices is not ideal but we have no choice,” said Amirul Fitri.

Public adjusting purchasing habits, diets

A consumer who wanted to be identified as Rahim said that he is forced to reduce his other expenses just to buy some of the expensive vegetables and other basic food items.

In the past we could buy a week’s supply of groceries for about RM30, but now it costs more than RM70 or RM80.

“Just imagine, in total it would cost around RM300 for a month,” he said. “We cannot even stop or reduce buying groceries because they are basic necessary items for us to eat and live.

“In that situation, we really need to cut down on other expenses and spend our money on grocery shopping,” he said.

Consumers also had to change their normal dietary practices by resorting to more affordable food items for their families. 

Rajeswari, a mother of three, said that she had changed her children’s breakfast menu to flour-based food items after prices went up.

“I used to prepare vegetable salads, sandwiches with lots of vegetables, cherry tomato wraps, and so on for breakfast,” said the 39-year-old.

Looking at the situation now, I have changed my children’s menu into things like egg sandwiches, maida (white wheat flour) chapati with chicken, and so on.

“Meat prices are still manageable compared to grocery items, so we are in a position to switch to more meat-based options.

“I really don’t know until when will this situation go on,” she added, urging the government to undertake any measure that can help people like her. – The Vibes, February 4, 2023