Prices of Vegetable Set to Increase in S’pore Due to Wet Weather in M’sia

Thanks to La Niña, Southeast Asia will be experience rain for the next few months. In case you’re thinking, La Niña is the name of a lamb, you are wrong.

La Niña is actually a natural climate phenomenon that basically means you’re going to have to wear raincoats and bring an umbrella out daily. This may be great for those intending to collect free water, but for those who cook, this is horrible news for you as the prices are taking a hike.

Prices of Vegetable Set to Increase in S’pore Due to Wet Weather in M’sia

As the year is coming to an end, the monsoon season greets us, and wet weather in Malaysia have not only caused floods but damaged and destroyed leafy vegetables as well.

This lead to the price hike.

Last month, FairPrice absorbed the rise in cost but as the wet weather persists, the supermarket chain can’t shelter it all. They finally buckled and now we have to pay the price.

Some vegetables such as cucumbers and bittergourd will be 5% to 15% more expensive while the other vegetables have generally remained stable.

FairPrice will continue monitoring the situation and act accordingly.

Although Malaysia is the largest supplier of vegetables at the supermarket, they do source vegetables from Thailand, Indonesia, China and locally as well.

Local Vegetable Stalls

Meanwhile, our local vegetable sellers are experiencing a different situation.

Vegetables like spinach, xiao bai cai and chye sim have gone up for they tend to wilt and rot easily. This always happens during the rainy seasons.

A vegetable stall that’s located at Tampines Street 44 doubled their price of spinach from S$1.80 to S$2 a kilogram to around S$3.50 to S$4 a kilogram.

Some vegetable sellers have absorbed the cost of the hike although the wholesale prices have gone up. Those sellers are also called the heroes we don’t deserve.

Selected Crops

Aside from the wet weather causing the price fluctuations, farmers choosing which crops to grow beforehand also affected the price hike.

Plus, farmers can’t plant vegetables for the whole month so harvested vegetables are limited.

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Featured Image: Ronnie Chua/ Shutterstock.com