KL wholesale market estimates huge losses from temporary closure

The temporary shutdown of the Selayang wholesale market will cost the vegetable traders up to RM15 million in losses.

Online news portal The Malaysian Insight (TMI) reported that this is due to the market being closed until Friday to allow for sanitation work to take place.

Eight housing areas surrounding the market have been placed under an enhanced movement control order (MCO).

Kuala Lumpur Vegetable Wholesalers’ Association president Wong Keng Fatt told TMI that there was not enough time to reduce orders from local farms and Thai exporters.

“The vegetables from Thailand have to be booked days in advance and we can no longer reduce our orders in a short time,” he said.

He warned that the temporary closure of the market will see Klang Valley experiencing a lack of supply for fresh produce this week and that will result in the prices of fresh vegetables and local fish to go up.

Wong said when the market is reopened on Friday, it will then have a problem with lack of manpower as the foreign workers are not allowed out while under enhanced MCO.

“When the MCO started (in March), we were already reduced to three workers per stall. Now if we only have Malaysians, there will not be enough people to pack and load vegetables, so we will be operating at half capacity," he said.

Yesterday, Deputy Federal Territories Minister Edmund Santhara Kumar Ramanaidu had said basic supplies would be purchased from the KL wholesale market traders affected by the enhanced MCO.

"We don't want them to suffer losses so we (the FT Ministry) propose to purchase basic supplies from them so that we can distribute to those living in the area.

"Rather than purchasing from elsewhere, it is better that I buy it from them to assist the people living in the surrounding areas. This will be done systematically," he said. - Mkini