Daily pickings: Vegetable farmers not only have to contend with demand, but also the weather for their produce.
PETALING JAYA: Farmers throughout the country have dumped tonnes of vegetables due to the closure of markets over the long weekend, but they say that the situation will be back to normal after the Hari Raya festivities.
Cameron Highlands Vegetable Growers Association deputy president Lau Weng Soow said there was a vegetable surplus in Cameron Highlands three weeks ago and that during the long Hari Raya holiday, farmers ended up having to throw away vegetables.
This was the first time they had done so in large quantities, he said.
“In the past, vegetable farmers discarded excessive produce during the same holiday, but not as much as this time. I estimate that nearly 1,000 tonnes of vegetables were discarded in Cameron alone.
“If you add the more than 1,000 tonnes of vegetables discarded from the plains, the vegetable farmers would have lost millions of ringgit,” he said.
He said cucumbers, tomatoes, sawi (choy sum) and collard greens were among the vegetables disposed.
“The low demand for vegetables during Ramadan, coupled with the long holiday when many vegetable markets did not open, and with some vendors and merchants still on holiday – that reduced the demand for vegetables considerably.
“Vegetable farmers were forced to destroy vegetables and replant them to meet future market demand,” he added.
Lau said the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) and the Vegetable Farmers and Vegetable Traders Association should collaborate to monitor the amount of vegetables available in the country.
He suggested vegetable import approved permits (APs) be reinstated for Malaysians to import vegetables only when there is a shortage of vegetables to avoid losses for domestic farmers.
“The authorities should only import vegetables when they are not self-sufficient, rather than importers just importing vegetables and affecting the supply of local farmers,” he said.
He said vegetable farmers had never received government subsidies and were responsible for all losses and destruction of vegetables.
Asked about reports that Fama would also provide advisory services to ensure a stable supply of vegetables, thus benefiting local growers, Lau said this was not a sustainable solution.
He said Fama could only buy vegetables at below-market prices and would have to face the risk of overstocking.
Fama, he said, currently buys tomatoes from Cameron farmers at 80 sen to 90 sen per kg and that the farmers might also have to bear the transport costs.
Malaysia Federation of Vegetable Farmers Association president Lim Ser Kwee said vegetables were picked from farms daily, but markets and wholesalers were closed for several days, forcing farmers to discard the greens.
“In the Johor plains, farmers are throwing away about 600,000 tonnes of vegetables a day, including tomatoes and cucumber, because they can’t store them for long,” he said.
He said that after this experience, he urged farmers nationwide to grow vegetables according to market demand.
“This year, vegetable farmers have suffered the greatest losses and discarded the most amount of vegetables,” he added.
Lim said vegetable planting was determined by the climate.
For example, he said, the vegetable prices were high during the Chinese New Year period as supply was low then due to the bad weather.
The weather gradually improved, resulting in better production but the demand was low, he said.
“So, farmers were forced to accept a loss.
“We hope that farmers will be able to find regular buyers.
“This means they can increase production in accordance with demand.
“And farmers will be able to rotate the type of vegetables they grow,” he added.
He also urged the government to provide farmers with subsidies for fertilisers.
Kuala Lumpur Vegetable Traders’ Association president Wong Keng Fatt said that vegetable traders at Malaysia’s largest wholesalers’ market in Selayang began operating yesterday.
“The wholesale market had been closed for three days.
“Vegetable markets nationwide are expected to be fully open next week,” he said.
But while some vegetable markets had reopened, he said vegetable prices were low, with tomatoes, for example, costing RM1.30 to RM1.50 per kg.
As for leafy vegetables, he said the supply was limited, hence prices would be slightly higher.
