‘Buy local’ as vegetable farms in Malaysia hit by floods
Singaporeans have been urged to buy locally grown vegetables to support farms and businesses here to mitigate prices as farms across the Causeway continue to be inundated by floods.
This is so that local farmers can stay in business and be encouraged to produce more, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.
In a statement posted on her Facebook page on Sunday, Ms Fu said: “The heavy rains over the past few days have inundated farms in Malaysia. Vegetable prices in Malaysia may rise, and we will likely feel its impact.”
She added that the ministry has also been working with farmers to ramp up local production in order to keep price increases of vegetables under control.
“Consumers doing their part to support local produce is an equally important part of the equation. This keeps our local farms in business and encourages them to produce more, which mitigates the impact of future supply shocks... I encourage Singaporeans to #SupportLocal as much as you can, and not only when there are price hikes for imports. Let’s all help to grow a vibrant agri-food ecosystem in Singapore,” she said.
The ongoing floods in Johor are among the worst in the country, with all 10 districts in the state hit by floodwaters caused by the non-stop rain since late February.
About 50,500 people were housed in more than 300 temporary relief centres in Johor, Pahang and Melaka as at Sunday evening, according to a Department of Social Welfare portal.
The floods have claimed at least four lives and with many left stranded as roads have been cut off by the rising waters.
Federation of Vegetable Farmers Associations president Lim Ser Kwee said the sudden and heavy rains have damaged over 1 million kg of vegetables at farms in the southern peninsula, with losses amounting to tens of millions of ringgit.
He added that farmers in the state reported that their water pumps installed on the riverbanks were washed away, while machinery was submerged in the water.
“They reported flooded roads, which have affected transport vehicles entering the farms, causing supply chaos in the vegetable wholesale market,” said Mr Lim.
Further north, less than ideal weather has also caused concern among farmers. Cameron Highlands Vegetable Growers Association secretary Chay Ee Mong has warned of a possible price increase should the weather pattern remain unstable.
“For example, long beans dropped from RM10 (S$3) to RM2 per kg, cucumber from RM5 to RM2 per kg, sawi (mustard leaves) and kangkung (water spinach) were all less than RM2 per kg,” he said.
“When there is little sun during rainy weather, vegetables grow much slowly because less photosynthesis takes place, affecting yields and supply. Consumers should understand that the weather patterns, vegetable prices and production are closely related.”
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