IPOH: The prolonged rainy spell has severely impacted the production of vegetables at Cameron Highlands, causing prices of produce to go up.
Cameron Highlands Vegetable Growers Association secretary Chay Ee Mong said production has dropped by about 30% due to constant rainfall.
“Even if it isn’t raining, the skies are overcast. A lot of crops, including fruits, are affected as there isn’t enough sunlight for the photosynthesis process, which affects flowering and production.
“It’s not just farmers at the highlands who are affected, it is also those in the lowlands, ” he said yesterday.
Based on past trends, he said the rainy weather usually cleared by early January.
“But we are facing such erratic weather these days that it’s going to be hard to predict, ” he said.
According to the Malaysian Meteorological Department website, thunderstorms are expected to continue throughout the week in the area.
The minimum temperature forecasted is about 15°C while the highest could go up to 21°C.
Chay said on average, prices for most produce have gone up by between 40% and 50%.
“About 80% to 90% of the crops, including chillies and most leafy vegetables, have gone up.
“The price for cucumber went up the most, from about RM1.50 to between RM4 and RM5, ” he said.
“But as far as I know, the prices of sweet potato and yam bean has dropped from between RM1 and RM2 to less than RM1.
“This is considered good given the low yield, ” he said.
Chay said besides the weather and impact of the movement control order, labour was another factor affecting production.
“Farms, including those that grow beans and chillies, need a lot of hands for planting, ” he said, adding that the freeze in recruitment for foreign workers until the end of the year also impacted farmers.
Chay also said that it was expensive to import and there was no guarantee there would be supply.
“Big onions from India are quite hard to get due to a shortage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and floods, ” he added.
Cameron Highlands Floriculturists Association president Lee Peng Fo said production at flower farms have been impacted but prices remained unchanged.
“Both harvesting and the market has been very slow. We don’t expect prices to go up.
“The weather has been very bad and it rains almost daily, ” he said, adding that quality was also affected.
“Production has been impacted by about 60% to 70%. It just doesn’t look good right now, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic, ” he added.
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/12/14/prices-of-greens-up-due-to-prolonged-rain