KUCHING (Dec 4): The rising prices of goods and raw materials have greatly affected the livelihood of food operators here, who have decided to absorb the costs instead of passing them on to their customers.
For Haslin Bujang, 54, a fritters (cucur) seller, said the prices of goods have gone up since the Melaka state election on Nov 20.
From cooking oil, to flour and even plastic bags for packaging, all have gone up in prices, she said.
“I don’t plan to increase my prices. I’ll just absorb the costs, it’s just that my income will be reduced because of this,” she said when met at her roadside stall in Kampung Pinang Jawa.
Among the drastic increase was fresh chilli that she usually bought for around RM20 per kg, and had gone up to RM35-40 per kg now.
For her hot-selling banana fritters, price of bananas has gone up from RM1.80 per kg to RM2.30 per kg.
Haslin has been running her stall full time for the past four years.
Her neigbouring ‘apam balik’ (pancake) seller, Sandy Shamsuddin, 55, agreed that the prices of goods had indeed risen.
All the ingredients he needed to make ‘apam balik’ had gone up, from the butter, flour, to raw peanuts.
“Pelangi’ brand butter used to be RM6.50 each, but is RM7.80 or RM8.90 now, and to get cheaper ones, I have to go from shop-to-shop,” he lamented.
Flour which used to be RM13.50 for a box of 10 bags, has gone up to RM15 – RM17.
“What I’m really unhappy about is the price of peanuts, from RM7.30 per kg to RM8 now. This is really too much.”
He said despite the hardship caused by the price hike, he has decided to maintain the prices of his food so that his customers won’t feel the pinch when enjoying their favourite snack.
Sandy has been running his stall full time since 2016, and opens from 11am to 5pm daily. In the morning, he would prepare the items he needed like the pancake batter from home.
Food and beverage operator Zak Gan, said prices of chicken have gone up, and vegetables too.
“I don’t do the purchasing for these things at my outlet, but I did hear from my wife that the prices of most things have gone up.
“But, as an F&B operator, we maintain our prices so as not to burden our customers. Life is already hard because of Covid-19 and MCO.”
Zak runs two coffee shops, a Western restaurant, two canteens and two Shiok Nasi Lemak outlets (including one to open in January 2022).
Meanwhile, a committee member of Kuching Coffeeshop and Restaurant Owners Association, Kapitan Tan Yit Sheng, said the unreasonable price hike had affected their members greatly.
“Prices of onion, pork, chicken, butter, soft drinks and everything have gone up. As coffeeshop operators, we are caught in a dilemma. On one hand things are going up, and on the other we don’t dare increase prices. We just have to absorb the cost ourselves,” he said.
On Dec 1, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob admitted that the prices of essential goods have increased but said it was not caused by traders. He attributed the price increase to costs accumulated at various levels of the supply chain before goods reached the traders.
“It is true that daily essentials are more expensive now. Traders and wholesalers are not responsible for this price increase. I see it as resulting from the supply chain.
“Take chicken as an example. Breeders, factories and wholesalers all have their own costs. The price is already high by the time the goods reach the traders,” he pointed out after conducting price checks on essential items at an outlet in Putrajaya.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/31nHn2p
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