Prices of Fish & Vegetables in S’pore Increasing Due to Floods in M’sia

Malaysia isn’t just dealing with the effects of Covid-19.

They’re also contending with floods caused by the heavy downpour over the past week.

Heavy downpours which started on 2 Jan 2021 caused floods in five Malaysian states on 4 Jan 2021.

According to Relief Web, at least 6 people have died and nearly 50,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes.

And now, Singapore is also reeling from the effects of the floods.

Prices of Fish & Vegetables Increase Due to Floods in M’sia

Compared to weeks ago, the prices of vegetables and fishes at wet markets have increased, with some costing double its initial price.

Vendors visited by the Straits Times pointed to the floods in Malaysia for the cause of the price increase.

Farms are flooded, resulting in lesser quantity available, and roads used to transport the goods were closed.

A vegetable store owner at the wet market at Pasir Ris Drive 6 said he’s “lost a lot of supply due to the bad weather”.

Another stall owner at Geylang Serai Market said she had to switch to importing vegetables from Thailand and Vietnam, which is more expensive since they now have to be flown in.

A vendor operating at Tekka Centre said that his cost price for tomatoes was originally $12 per kg. It has since increased to $28 per kg.

An Exceptional Year

Mr Jerry Tan, the vice-secretary of the Singapore Fruits & Vegetables Importers & Exporters Association, said that 2021 has been different.

Usually, prices tend to increase towards the end of the year due to the monsoon season, he said.

However, there will be places which are still warm and spared from the rainy weather, such as some areas in the Cameron Highlands, which can supply the tomatoes required.

This year, however, the rain is everywhere, affecting the supply.

Prices Will Stabilise Soon

For tomato lovers out there, don’t worry.

While the spike of the price of tomatoes seems intimidating (it increased by 150% over the past week), Mr Tan predicts that as more suppliers work to get their stocks from Thailand and Vietnam, the price will gradually drop and stabilise once again.

Some vegetables like spinach, however, will prove to be more troublesome as its easily perishable, which makes it hard to export from somewhere further away like Thailand.

Seafood Affected Similarly

Mr Goh Thiam Chwee, the chairman of the Singapore Fish Merchants’ General Association, also said that some popular seafood items like the Chinese pomfret have seen a price increase of 20 to 30 per cent.

It’s, however, not as badly affected as they have the option to replace fresh seafood with frozen ones, he added, and get supplies from other countries.

Both Chinese and red pomfrets have seen a price increase of S$25. On a separate note, the prices of prawns (small ones) are not affected.

In short, don’t be surprised if suddenly, your mother starts bringing home frozen fish instead of fresh fish. There’s a reason for it.

Also, if you’d like to know more about how Singapore gets its food, you might want to watch this video to the end (and please subscribe to our YouTube channel for more informative videos!):

Featured Image: YoPho / Shutterstock.com