MELAKA, Jan 20 — Vegetable prices in Melaka have increased by 20 to 70 per cent this week due to low supplies said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) Melaka branch director Norena Jaafar.

She said most of the vegetables supplied to supermarkets and traders in the state are from Pasar Selayang in Kuala Lumpur but their stocks were not replenished since the vegetable section of the wholesale market was ordered to close from Monday to Friday this week, after Covid-19 cases were detected in the market.

"Melaka KPDNHEP is trying to get supplies from Cameron Highlands, Pahang but the flood situation there has not improved and this has hampered our efforts,” she said when contacted by Bernama here today.

Norena said apart from Cameron Highlands the agency would also try to get supplies of organic vegetables from farmers in Melaka, but they would cost more adding that consumers avoid buying organic vegetables as they were expensive.

Meanwhile she said with more people staying home due to the movement control order (MCO) more people are spending time to cook and this has affected the supply of cooking oil, especially the one-kilogram packets.

"As such we will limit sale of the 1kg cooking oil packets to three packets per customer, while waiting for the flood situation in Pahang to improve, as supplies of cooking oil in the state are mostly from Pahang,” she said.

In addition, she said KPDNHEP would find the best way to solve the vegetable and cooking oil shortage in the state ahead of the Chinese New Year celebration next month.

Last Monday, a news portal reported over 90 Covid-19 positive cases were detected in the Selayang Wholesale Market which led to its closure for four days from last Monday, to enable workers at the market to undergo screening. — Bernama