PETALING JAYA (July
8, 2013): Consumers have a social responsibility to boycott whatever they feel
is unreasonably priced, said Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations
(Fomca) deputy president Sha'ani Abdullah.
He said this in
response to rampant reports of price hikes of foodstuff throughout the country
in anticipation of the fasting month.
"Consumers
should be in control. Even if you can afford poultry at RM10 per kilogramme,
you should still boycott it to support those who cannot afford it," he
told theSun, adding that consumer awareness is needed to help fight price
hikes, of which middlemen benefit from the most.
"Retailers can
only hike the price up so much and farmers earn the same amount no matter what
we pay for the goods," he explained.
Muslim Consumers
Association of Malaysia (PPIM) executive secretary Datuk Nadzim Johan Johar
echoed this sentiment, saying the government cannot do much to control the
middlemen.
"According to
PPIM's recent surveys, there has been a 30% increase in the prices of onions
and potatoes and a 25% increase in the price of poultry," he said.
Consumers reported
that the price hike on poultry has affected them most, with a kilogramme
usually selling for RM7 bumped up to about RM10 in certain markets.
Vendors at the
Petaling Jaya Old Town wet market, however, insist that suppliers have cornered
them with excuses about depleting supplies and being unable to meet the demands
of the festive season.
"The price has
been rising thrice a week, each time by 30 sen. We can't raise the price too
high either because we don't want to lose our customers – this means we are
barely making any money," said Lim, a poultry vendor.
Over in Kuala
Lumpur, vendors at the Taman Tun wet market pushed responsibility to the
Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, saying they should not allow
middlemen to "bully" vendors and consumers.
Meanwhile, at a
high-end independent market, consumers lamented that retailers were making use
of deceptive packaging where the product deteriorates in quality or quantity
while the price remains the same.
Another regular at
the market observed that: "When petrol prices went up, the price of
grocery went up automatically but after the petrol price went down by 20 sen
last month, the price of grocery never went down!"
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