Rising costs dampen Ramadan cheer in Malaysia

Record ID: 877026

  • Title: Rising costs dampen Ramadan cheer in Malaysia
  • Date: 27th May 2017
  • Summary: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (MAY 27, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CUSTOMERS WALKING THROUGH RAMADAN BAZAAR SIGN READING (English): "TEPUNG PELITA (PAYA JARAS) 5 PCS RM3.50" VARIOUS OF TRADERS PACKING TEPUNG PELITA, A TRADITIONAL MALAY CAKE, AT BAZAAR STALL (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Malaysia) MALAY CAKE SELLER, SHARIFAH AMERIAH, SAYING: "The difference between this year and last year is that we had to raise our prices by 50 sen. Last year, we sold five pieces for 3 ringgit, but we had to increase it by 50 sen because our suppliers also raised their costs. So they're the ones who control our prices, we're not raising it for fun." CUSTOMERS QUEUING AT STALL STALL MENU AND PRICE LIST STALL WORKERS PREPARING MURTABAK, A TYPE OF STUFFED PANCAKE HANDS FLIPPING MURTABAK ON GRILL CUSTOMERS WAITING AT KING MURTABAK STALL F10. (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Malaysia) STALL MANAGER, RAJA ZAKARIA RAJA HAMID, SAYING: "We haven't raised our prices for the past couple of years because we felt after 27 years, we have a few branches now, so we can afford to keep our prices low. We have the volume, so we're able to maintain the standards of our product." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE QUEUING (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Malaysia) CUSTOMER, SYED MUHAMMAD AWAL-NUR, SAYING: "Traders had to raise their prices as well, as even the raw materials are expensive, so what can we do? So, we as customers, need to learn to choose wisely." CUSTOMERS AT A STALL BUYING FOOD VARIOUS OF TRADITIONAL MALAY CAKES AND PASTRIES AT RAMADAN BAZAAR PEOPLE WALKING PAST RAMADAN BAZAAR STALLS
  • Embargoed: 10th June 2017 13:16
  • Keywords: Kuala Lumpur food markets celebrations food Malaysia Ramadan celebrations
  • Location: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
  • City: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
  • Country: Malaysia
  • Topics: Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016IM4BB9
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Malaysian Muslims celebrated the first day of Ramadan on Saturday (May 27) but this year, many are cutting down on lavish dinner spreads amid high inflation and rising food costs.
    Inflation in Malaysia was up 4.3 percent in the first quarter of this year after fuel costs rose and subsidies on materials such as cooking oil were removed.
    At a Ramadan bazaar in Kuala Lumpur, traders said they were forced to raise their prices due to higher costs of raw materials such as oil and sugar.
    The ringgit, one of the region's worst performing currencies, in 2016, hit a 19-year low of 4.9880 on January 4 but so far this year has strengthened about 3.7 percent against the dollar.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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