JOHOR BARU — Consumers in Singapore can expect to pay more for vegetables from Malaysia and coconuts from Thailand, as the hot weather and lack of rain caused by the El Nino phenomenon continue to hurt crop production in the region and push up prices.
Federation of Malaysian Vegetable Farmers’ Association president Tan So Tiok told The Star newspaper that local vegetable output had dropped 20 per cent since last month. The shortage has also affected supply to Singapore by about the same percentage, he said.
Cameron Highlands Vegetable Growers Association secretary Chay Ee Mong said output from the highlands has dropped between 30 and 40 per cent. About 80 per cent of the output is consumed locally while the rest is exported to Singapore.
Mr Tan said the situation had improved because of the recent rains but the upcoming Ramadan month would create new problems. “Indonesian farm workers will usually head back to their hometowns for the fasting month, which leaves us shorthanded,” he told the paper. “The situation is made worse by the freeze on foreign workers because we can’t take in labourers from other countries to replace those heading home.”
Over in Thailand, the hot weather has affected Thai coconut production and prices have gone up almost 100 per cent in Singapore as a result.
Coconut importer Kelvin Ngian of Siam Coconut told Channel NewsAsia that the prices are the highest he has seen in 15 years.
In the case of coconuts, apart from the hot weather, prices have gone up because there has been an increase in demand for coconuts as drinking coconut water has become a health fad.
The hot weather is also affecting the supply of durians. Last month, it was reported that durian yields in Perak were expected to fall by 50 per cent because durian trees were not flowering and trees were dying because of the lack of rain.
Source: www.todayonline.com
