Among the types of chilli that are seeing a dip in prices include the cili merah kulai, cili merah minyak and cili akar, he said.

Citing the “cili merah kulai”, he said, the price was RM23 per kg last December, but this week it dropped to RM19 per kg.

He said the increase in the price of items such as chilli was due to the weather change in the country as well as the extreme cold weather in the highland areas like Cameron Highlands, which are the major suppliers of such produce.

“These weather conditions have caused the quality and quantity of vegetables to drop,” he said in a statement today.

The statement was issued following his visit to a vegetable collection centre for red chilli in Telok Panglima Garang, Selangor, yesterday.

According to him, chilli planting in Malaysia is strongly influenced by weather, soil type and humidity levels.

Nanta said chilli farms covered 576ha in Malaysia, with 204ha planted with kulai chillies.

“Chilli consumption by Malaysian consumers is estimated at about 2kg per year, meaning the annual supply needed for the population is 65.46 million kg,” he said.