MELAKA – Vegetable prices in Melaka have increased by 20 to 70% this week due to low supplies said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) Melaka branch director Norena Jaafar.
She said most of the vegetables supplied to supermarkets and traders in the state are from the Selayang wholesale market in Kuala Lumpur but their stocks have not been replenished since the vegetable section of the wholesale market was ordered to close from Monday to Friday this week upon detection of Covid-19 cases there.
“Melaka KPDNHEP is trying to get supplies from Cameron Highlands, Pahang, but the flood situation there has not improved and has hampered our efforts,” she said when contacted by Bernama here today.
Norena said that apart from Cameron Highlands, the agency will also try to get supplies of organic vegetables from farmers in Melaka, but they will cost more.
She added that consumers avoid buying organic vegetables as they are expensive.
Meanwhile, she said, with more people staying home due to the movement control order (MCO), more people are cooking, affecting cooking oil supply, especially the 1kg packets.
“As such, we will limit the sale of 1kg cooking oil packets to three packets per customer while waiting for the flood situation in Pahang to improve, as supplies of cooking oil to the state are mostly from Pahang,” she said.
In addition, she said KPDNHEP will find the best way to solve the vegetable and cooking oil shortage in the state ahead of the Chinese New Year celebration next month.
Last Monday, a news portal reported that over 90 Covid-19 positive cases were detected in the Selayang wholesale market, which led to its closure for four days from the day of detection to enable workers at the market to undergo screening. – Bernama, January 20, 2021
