Vegetables cost less due to oversupply
KOTA KINABALU: Prices of local vegetables have gone down due to oversupply amid the dry spell.
Sabah West Coast Vegetables and Fruits Farmers and Wholesalers Association president Kin Yew Min said the supply of local vegetables was not affected by dry weather.
In fact, he said farmers were more worried about rainy seasons as they would have to race against time to harvest their crops before the vegetables started to rot.
“During rainy seasons, the amount of vegetables we harvest may be lesser than the amount we have farmed.” For the time being, Kin said vegetable farms could still sustain on groundwater.
He assured that the supply of vegetables was still sufficient for the local market, to the point of being oversupply, which caused prices to drop slightly.
For instance, he said the wholesale price for sawi manis is now RM3 for three kilogrammes.
“Vegetables currently in the market were cultivated around a month ago, as it takes the crops between 30 and 45 days to grow.
“If there is sufficient water, the vegetables can be harvested in 20 days.” Kin added that local vegetables were supplied by large- scale farms in Keningau and Tambunan, as well as smaller farms in Penampang, Putatan and Tuaran.
A survey at Lido market also found that vegetable prices have gone down. For instance, the price for a bundle of kangkung has reduced from RM2 to RM1 while sawi manis now costs RM5 instead of RM6 per kilogramme.