'Shallots, garlic, dried chilli prices up by 30-40 per cent'

KUANTAN - Pahang consumers say essential goods prices have increased a lot after the price of rice went up last Monday.

Sinar surveyed several supermarkets and grocery stores and found that the prices of shallots, garlic, and dried chilli have gone up by 30 to 40 per cent.

Shallots used to cost RM3 to RM6 per kilogramme. Now they cost RM9 to RM13.

Garlic used to cost RM4 per kilogramme. Now it costs RM9.

Dried chilli used to cost RM13 per kilogramme. Now it costs over RM21.

Noor Azliha Saidi, a restaurant owner aged 35, claims that the increase in the prices of these raw materials has caused her operational costs to rise.

"The prices of goods are going up now, it's very bad for us. Last week, rice prices went up, and this time, shallots, garlic, onions, and dried chilli prices have gone up.

"Selling at a higher price makes customers angry, but the fact is we are facing a multiple increase in the cost of goods," she said when met at her stall at the Tanjung Api Seafood Complex yesterday.

Grocery store owner Siti Norhaslina Amran, aged 34, acknowledged that the price increase of these goods has been significant, with an increase of up to 40 per cent compared to the beginning of the year.

She believes that the government should provide clear information to the public regarding the rising prices of essential items.

"The government should announce it openly, not raise prices quietly, and we as shopkeepers have to deal with customers who accuse us of deliberately raising prices," she said, having operated her grocery store for 10 years.