Johor farmers still not out of the woods
JOHOR BARU: The heatwave that has been scorching the country may have subsided in most parts of Johor, but fruit farmers feel that it is too soon to heave a sigh of relief.
Johor Fruit Farmers Association chairman Francis Hong said this was because some fruits, especially seasonal ones, had yet to reach their harvesting period, making it difficult to gauge the full impact of the hot weather.
“Farmers faced difficulties in ensuring their crops are watered for many weeks previously, and this may have led to lower yields,” he told The Star.
He said that during the dry spell, the association received reports from fruit farmers statewide who saw the flowers on their trees falling before they could grow into fruits.
“Among the fruits that may be affected are durian.
“During the flowering period, farmers said that the flowers were falling from the trees due to the hot weather.
“This means there is a high possibility of lower durian yields in Johor.
“We will only see the full effect in June, which is the next durian season,” he said.
Hong, who is also the vice-president of the Malaysia Fruit Farmers Association, said the same phenomenon was expected to be found in other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, Malaysia Federation of Vegetable Farmers Associations president Lim Ser Kwee said vegetable farmers in Johor were not badly affected.
“The situation is not so bad in Johor but farmers in the state saw lower yields a few weeks ago, especially for vegetables such as cucumber and sawi (mustard greens).
“However, with the rain falling regularly again, things seem to have gone back to normal,” he said, adding that vegetable farmers in Perak and Pahang were among those badly hit.
Lim said the prices of vegetables were also expected to see a slight increase due to the lower production nationwide.
“The festive season, which led to higher demand for vegetables, coupled with the lower yield, caused prices to go up.
“However, it will not be too significant and is expected to go down again once the festive season is over,” he said.