Rainy season takes toll on Sibu Central Market’s vegetable vendors

SIBU (Jan 12): Vendors at Sibu Central Market here have lamented that the rainy season and the rising prices of vegetables are causing their customers to reduce their spending.

A vegetable seller who only wished to be identified as Wa, said there were fewer customers at the central market of late and business had also been slow for the first two weeks of this year.

“The rain has destroyed all my crops and not even a single grain of rice can grow in this season of prolonged rain,” Wa said.

“I now have to purchase my stock of vegetables in bulk quantities from the wholesaler for the price of about RM150 to RM200, which I could get for the same quantity at only RM70 before,” she lamented.

Another vendor, Sayu Usit, recalled that vegetable prices had started to increase since October last year.

“Times are hard and we cannot afford to bear the impact of the rise in inflation and the higher cost of living these days,” she said.

Prices of goods keep going up but salaries remain low, she said, adding to her belief that this had prompted the customers to cut their spending, with some resorting to planting their own vegetables in their backyard.

“I’ve been here selling my vegetables since early this morning and look how much more is left here,” she pointed to the sweet potato leaves, ‘terung asam’ and the unsold vegetables at her stall.

“Selling vegetables just isn’t profitable anymore,” said Sayu, in a gloomy tone.

Like other vegetable seller, they often ended up having to bear the losses from the vegetable surplus.

Meanwhile, the prices of fruits, as The Borneo Post observed, had not been affected by the rainy season.