PETALING JAYA: Farmers warn shoppers of further supply issues and higher prices as vegetable crops planted on the lowlands would be destroyed in a flood.
They also added that such a situation could cut the supply of produce by up to 15%, The Malaysian Insight reports.
The Chinese New Year falls on January 22 while the monsoon season is slated to start mid-November.
Kuala Lumpur Vegetable Wholesalers’ Association president Wong Keng Fatt said supply will only return to normal in February.
“Any flood later this month and the next will definitely affect the supply of vegetables in January and that in turn will cause prices to skyrocket when the lunar new year demand kicks in,” he reportedly said.
Meanwhile, Federation of Vegetable Farmers Associations of Malaysia president Lim Ser Kwee said the supply of vegetables would definitely be affected by the monsoon and the flood.
On the supply of fish, Kuala Lumpur Hoi Seong Fish Wholesaler Association chairman Sing Kian Hock said the supply currently was adequate but expected to plummet when the seas turn rough.
“It’s true that when the monsoon comes, the catch is reduced but a reduced catch is not having much impact now,” he said.
