An Ipoh hor fun seller who identified herself as Mrs Lai rattled off a list of ingredients that have become more expensive recently, from prawns and fish to chili.
“The price of prawns has risen from RM25 to RM30 per kg,” she said. “Not only have raw ingredients become more expensive, but so have the plastic bags we use for takeaway orders.”
But she told FMT she did not intend to raise her prices just yet because her customers’ salaries had probably not increased.
She claimed that the sizes of prawns and fish had shrunk amid the price hikes but said her portion sizes had remained the same.
“We feel bad about reducing our portions, but it means we must bear additional costs. If the prices still rise after Chinese New Year, we might start reducing the portions.”
Kuoy, who sells lam mee, said he would also maintain his current price of RM8 for the sake of his regular customers.
“While the prices of ingredients have gone up, the economy this year will be quite bad for everyone,” he said.
“We have seen how other stalls have increased their prices to up to RM10 last year, but we thought it best to just maintain our price.”
Mee bandung vendor Danial, who has maintained his price for three years, said he planned to raise it after Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
“We initially planned to raise our prices last year but we kept holding back for fear we would lose our regular customers,” he said.
“But the raw ingredients have indeed become more expensive. One bag of yellow mee now costs a ringgit or two more.”
Nasi campur vendor Yusof, who runs a stall with his wife, admitted that he felt torn between maintaining and raising his prices.
“I’m not sure if I should increase my prices this year because I don’t want to lose my customers,” he said. “It might be fine not to increase since I don’t have workers.”
A recent FMT visit to morning markets found that consumers were spending more money to buy groceries but getting less as food prices continued to rise.
Some market-goers said they had resorted to eggs instead of fish as a cheaper source of protein but complained that even eggs had become expensive.