Preparing a cuppa: Coffee shop owner Kow Teck Phing, 59, making a cup of hot coffee at his eatery in Taman Daya, Johor Baru, which is sold at RM2.30 per cup. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
JOHOR BARU: The price of a standard cup of coffee here has increased by about 70% in the past three years.
A cup of kopi used to cost around RM1.50, but the price has crept up – 10 sen or 20 sen at a time – to about RM2.60 currently. It can even go up to RM2.80 for takeaways.
The Star checked several coffee shops in the city and suburban areas and found that prices ranged from RM2.30 to RM2.60 per cup, while other popular drinks like hot Nescafe and Milo cost RM3.50 to RM4 each.
Many operators blamed the hike on the rising cost of coffee beans, coffee powder and sugar.
However, Johor Baru Coffee, Restaurant and Bar Operators Association deputy chairman Yong Wa Kong said those are not the only reasons the prices of these beverages have gone up.
“Many factors contribute to the price increase, such as the rising cost of operations and the shrinking value of the ringgit. We simply cannot cover our operations if we maintain the same prices.
“It is also a challenge to hire workers as many locals are ‘running’ to Singapore to earn in dollars due to the high exchange rate of around 3.5.
“Coffee shop owners have to fork out more to hire staff. It is tough to hire foreign workers if the pay is less than RM2,000, and locals usually demand nothing less than RM3,000,” he said when interviewed by The Star.
Yong, who also owns a coffee shop, said he adjusted his price for a cup of coffee from RM2 to RM2.30 in January.
Similarly, a coffee shop operator in Taman Sri Tebrau, who wanted to be known only as Lim, said she charges RM2.60 for a cup of coffee and an additional 20 sen for takeaways.
“We raised our prices earlier this year. A cup of kopi-o is now RM2.20 from RM2, and iced kopi-o is now RM2.40 from RM2.20. We are not planning to increase our prices (in the foreseeable future) to avoid angering customers.
“However, if other coffee shops in the area increase their prices, we will consider adjusting ours,” she said.
Yong noted that not all kopitiam outlets have raised their prices – some still sell a cup of coffee for RM1.80. He advised coffee shop operators to be mindful when setting their prices and to always be transparent with their customers.“We encourage all to clearly list their prices for customers to see as this will avoid misunderstandings like a recent incident where a customer was upset after being charged RM2 for a glass of warm water.
Another Malaysian favourite spot for “lepak” (hanging out) – “mamak” or Indian-Muslim restaurants – is also facing high operating costs due to the rental rates in Johor Baru.
To offset costs, many of them considered practising “shrinkflation” – reducing the portion of their dishes while maintaining prices – said Johor Indian Muslim Entrepreneurs Association secretary Hussein Ibrahim.
“A whole chicken is usually cut into 12 pieces at our restaurants, and we thought about cutting it into 14 ways to increase the servings. But after several rounds of discussions, we decided against it.
“We were worried that customers would post photos of the smaller portion on social media, giving us a bad reputation and getting us into trouble with the authorities. In the long run, this would cost us more than maintaining our prices and portions,” he added.
Hussein also suggested that the government play its part in ensuring transparency in the market to avoid middlemen from marking up prices for their profit.
He gave an example of certain vegetables being sold at RM1/kg at farms, but after going through the middleman, restaurants have to pay up to RM4.50/kg.
Asked whether Indian-Muslim restaurants would raise their prices soon, Hussein said they would probably wait until after Hari Raya Aidilfitri next month.
“We will look at the overall market situation and also meet with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry before deciding on anything,” he added.
