Flooding: Fresh food dwindling, dry food in Kelantan, Terengganu stable

The floods that hit Kelantan a week ago have seen the supply of local wet goods dwindling and leading to higher prices while dry food remained stable.

A wet goods dealer in Gua Musang, Fadhli Hamdi Abdullah, 50, said he had to find alternatives by getting supplies outside Kelantan, including from as far as Kuala Lumpur.

“For the past week, we have been facing difficulty because the suppliers are from the Kota Bharu area.

“So, we sourced for supplies from Kuala Lumpur, with smaller orders from the original supplier. And the prices for fresh produce increased, like fish and vegetables,” the dealer told Bernama yesterday.

Deputy chairperson of the Malaysian Malay Chamber of Commerce Kelantan, Asharun Uji, said he had received many complaints.

“Not only complaints in price and supply, but traders huff about the lack of customers,” he said.

Asharun hoped the government can provide a simple grant or one-off aid to traders and hawkers to help them tide over, once the floods subside.

On the other hand, a grocery store owner in Gua Musang, Mohd Faisal Mohd Nordin, 39, said the supply of dry food was not affected and was still sold at the usual price.

In Terengganu, a stable situation was also reported and contingency plans have paid off, with the state’s director of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) Saharuddin Mohd Kia guaranteeing that food supplies, including eggs, are still sufficient despite unexpected floods.

Saharuddin said supply was not interrupted despite several main traffic routes, including the East Coast Expressway 2 (LPT2), being rendered impassable due to landslides a few days ago.

He said KPDN had earlier given permission to 160 district-selected retailers and 74 district-selected wholesalers to keep stocks of more than 30 percent of the amount allowed by the licence.

“It is true that there is a 60 per cent reduction in the supply of eggs due to LPT2 connecting Kuala Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur being rendered impassable. But it does not affect supply since all wholesalers were allowed to keep more stocks before the flood,” he said.

Saharuddin said the problem of shortage of petrol or diesel also did not arise even though five petrol stations closed - two in Hulu Terengganu; Besut (two) and Setiu (one) - after a second wave of flooding last Saturday.

“That’s why we created a mobile refuelling service, known as ROVR, to provide petrol in locations hit by flooding,” he said.

- Bernama