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| GEORGE TOWN: The Consumers' Association of Penang (CAP) has urged Malaysians to start home gardens, growing vegetables and herbal plants to ease the impact of rising food prices.
CAP education officer Subbarow Narayanan said next year could be even more challenging as food costs are expected to continue climbing.
He highlighted home gardening as a cost-effective way for households to cope with the rising cost of fresh produce.
Subbarow said the prices of various greens have already spiked in recent days, and the situation is expected to persist for several months.
"Consumers may face higher vegetable prices in the coming weeks as retailers report warnings from distributors and wholesalers about further cost increases.
"One notable example is papaya, now selling at RM7 per kilogramme, a sharp rise from RM4 per kilogramme just two weeks ago.
"CAP believes that the year 2026 will be more challenging to consumers in terms of food prices.
"As such, stabilising vegetable prices is critical to meeting the public's food security needs," he told the New Straits Times.
He said home gardening was cost-effective, required minimal space and could significantly reduce dependence on market prices.
He noted that fruiting plants such as okra, brinjal and chillies, as well as leafy greens like sawi (mustard plant), kangkong (water spinach), kailan (Chinese broccoli), and bayam (spinach) could be easily cultivated — even on balconies.
"Perennial herbs including mint, pegaga (Indian pennywort), kesum (Chinese knotweed) and selum (water celery) are also suitable for small spaces.
"Plants with deeper roots, such as okra, brinjal and chilli, can thrive in simple containers like biscuit tins, five-litre oil cans, or five- to 20-litre water bottles.
"With proper sunlight, water and compost, anyone can grow and harvest vegetables even in small places," he added, urging Malaysians to share their harvests to help ease each other's burden as prices rise.
It was reported that prices of vegetables had surged up to threefold as the northeast monsoon disrupted harvests in Cameron Highlands.
Continuous rain over the past two weeks had damaged leafy crops and slowed regrowth across highland farms, Cameron Highlands Vegetable Growers Association chairman Chai Kok Lim told the NST.
Following that, the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry had dismissed claims that vegetable prices had surged by three- to fourfold, saying its nationwide monitoring showed actual increases remained within a controlled and reasonable range despite the impact of floods and the monsoon season.
Deputy minister Datuk Dr Fuziah Salleh said daily tracking by the National Price Division found that vegetable prices in the second week of December rose between 0.1 per cent and 68.4 per cent compared to the same period in November.
She said the ministry continued to conduct thorough monitoring through physical inspections at farms, wholesalers and retailers; analysis of daily price data involving 316 essential items; and feedback received through official consumer complaint channels. |
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