PETALING JAYA: The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) said the supply of food items needs to be increased to prevent traders from increasing prices.
Its CEO Dr Saravanan Thambirajah said bulk-buying of items such as chicken, eggs, beef, mutton and cooking oil is among the major contributors to the inflation of food prices, adding that bulk buyers are restaurants and those in the food and beverage (F&B) industry, rather than private households.
Saravanan also said there is a 3% to 5% increase in the prices of dishes at hawker stalls and restaurants.
“Take chicken, for example. There is this misconception that the general public is stock-pilling them. But a single household may only buy two whole chickens at most, while restaurants and the F&B sector are the ones buying in bulk. What they are doing leads to supply shortages and sellers increasing prices,” he said yesterday.
Saravanan expressed hope that more “popular” food items such as chicken, will be supplied to the market before the Chinese New Year festive season to prevent price hikes.
“It is likely that sellers would mark up their prices during the festive season. Therefore, an initiative must be put in place to avoid price hikes and overpricing, which will eventually lead to the increase in prices of food at restaurants and eateries.”
In a survey related to cost of living and rising prices of goods, Fomca suggested to the government to reduce the burden on the public by putting more effort into reducing food prices and maintaining food security.
He said the hike in food prices would affect the low-income group, and after years of under-investment in food crops with excessive dependence on imported food, the government should give agricultural production importance.
“Food security should be a priority to ensure supply of affordable food to all. The supply chain should also be liberalised to ensure open competition at all levels of the food supply chain. It cannot be denied that monopoly and price manipulation exist at many levels of the food chain, resulting in excessive prices of food,” he said.
“Research and development are also crucial to ensure farmers get a decent income, which would attract the next generation of farmers.”
Persatuan Pengusaha Restoran India Malaysia president J. Govindasamy@Suresh said the increase in prices of prepared food is due to a hike in costs of ingredients.
He added that although the association is not sure of the situation with hawkers and cafe owners (as they are not its members), Primas members will not increase prices during festive seasons.
They had only increased prices previously by 10% to 15% due to a hike in prices of raw materials.
“However, if prices of food items do not go down and keep increasing, our members will have no choice but to increase prices by another 5% to 10% to sustain their operations. Other than that, Primas members do not intend to raise prices for as long as possible,” he said.
“However, we are trying our best to absorb the small increases, in consideration of our customers.”