‘Meat supply and prices may affect Raya joy’

 

Going up: Osman holding the price tag of imported beef at his stall in George Town, Penang.

GEORGE TOWN: Traders here say there will be enough beef, mutton and chicken for the coming Ramadan month.

However, some said they do not know if supply would remain stable during Hari Raya.

Osman Sintha, 63, who sells local and imported beef at the Chowrasta Market, said as of now, he has no problems with the beef supply.

“However, we are unsure if this will last till the festive period,” he said.

Osman said the price of 1kg of imported beef has now reached RM24 compared with RM18-RM20 per kg previously.

Another beef seller who wanted to be known only as Ali said the price of beef and mutton would surely increase, adding that he has no choice but to pay whatever suppliers charged.

“If you survey this market, you will see that prices of nearly everything have increased.

“Traders like me who get their supply from middlemen will suffer as we have to pay more and earn less. There are days when I can only break even,” he said.

Ali said he expected the price of imported beef to rise to as high as RM27 per kg and much higher during the Hari Raya period.

Chicken trader Khairuddin Abdul Kader, 41, said there are no problems with supply but lamented that the RM9.40 per kg ceiling price is too low.

“The middleman charges us RM9.20 per kg, so the ceiling price leaves us with 20 sen, excluding transportation costs. Tell me how we can sustain our business with this kind of arrangement,” he added.

With coconut milk being another important cooking ingredient, trader Kuthubuddeen Sultan, 66, said it is now RM12 per kg compared with RM9 to RM10 before the pandemic.

“Consumers still can afford it, but the price should be monitored by the authorities to prevent manipulation by suppliers,” he said.

Penang Chowrasta Traders Association president Mohamed Nasir Mohideen said that from his observation, prices of most daily essential items are under control and within their ceiling prices.

He, however, cautioned that prices would be difficult to control if there are supply shortages during festive periods. - Star