Kuala Lumpur Vegetable Wholesaler’s Association president Wong Keng Fatt said it was cheaper to purchase meat and fish now compared to vegetables.

“It is raining constantly and there is no sunlight, so we can’t harvest the vegetables. This has led to a supply shortage, all of which is pushing prices up,” Wong told FMT.

“At the wholesale level, tomatoes are being sold at RM10 per kg and when they get to the supermarket, they will be sold for RM13.

“The only things that are cheap now are kangkung (RM2/kg) and cabbage (RM2/kg), even sawi and bok choy are expensive.”

Wong said if the rain did not let up, prices could continue to soar. However, supply from Thailand could dampen the steep price rise.

“We have been importing from Thailand, so prices may come down a little.”

Wong said vegetables were also being sourced from China but they took about 10 days to arrive in Malaysia, while it only took three days from Thailand.

Lim Ser Kwee, president of the Malaysian Federation of Vegetable Farmers Association, said flooding in several farmlands had contributed to the shortage and higher prices.

“From the first day of Chinese New Year on Jan 22 until today, it has been raining on and off. While the weather in Johor has been improving, farms in Kuantan have been flooded.

“The constant rain means farmlands are waterlogged, so the vegetables cannot grow and there is no harvest,” he said.

Earlier, the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) said prices of some vegetables had gone up by 160%.

According to CAP, the price of lady’s fingers had gone up by 166% from RM6 per kg last month to RM16 per kg this month. Long beans had doubled in price from RM6 per kg to RM12 per kg, tomatoes from RM4.50 per kg to RM10 per kg (a 120% increase), and eggplants from RM7 per kg to RM12 per kg (a 71% increase).