Nor Baaiah makes sure her food is delicious enough to satisfy her customers although it costs more this year. — Picture by Zuraneeza Zulkifli

PETALING JAYA, June 20 — Several Ramadan bazaar stall owners here and in Penang feel uneasy charging their customers more following the 10 to 30 per cent increase in price of raw food items. But, they claim they have no choice.

Fried chicken seller Ismail Ibrahim, 24, who is in his fifth year of selling at Ramadan bazaar lamented the price of chicken had increased by 40 per cent since the beginning of Ramadan and it was affecting his business.

“Earlier this year, 1kg of chicken would cost around RM5.50, but now it is roughly RM7.70 per kg,” he said.

“Our fried chicken are sold cheap at RM1 per piece, but we now struggle to maintain the price.”

The significant increase of price of poultry had also forced trader Mohd Ayob Yakob, 47, who had been selling chicken rice for 18 years, to offer a different menu at the Section 14 bazaar this year.

“The price of chicken kept shooting up and I would have to sell a packet of chicken rice at RM5 to make a little profit. But if I do, nobody would buy from me,” he said.

“So after much contemplation, I decided to stop selling my usual Ramadan fares and sell murtabak instead this year.”

Ayob said even by selling murtabak at RM3.50 per piece, he made just enough profit to cover his business for the next day.

Last week Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin denied prices at Ramadan bazaar had gone up.

Hamzah said if there were hawkers who contravened the price control scheme, the ministry could charge them under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2010, adding he had instructed his officers to routinely conduct checks to prevent profiteering.

Nor Baaiah Yusoff, 45, who sells mixed rice at the USJ4 bazaar in Subang, said she was left with no option but to charge differently, depending on the size of the chicken parts.

“If a customer picks a bigger part, it will be RM5. Otherwise, it is fixed at RM3.50.

“If I don’t charge extra, I will be making very little profit or none at all,” she said, adding she made sure her fares are delicious enough to satisfy her customers.

In George Town, kuih seller Rahimah Abdul Rahman, 36, at the Seberang Jaya bazaar said she had raised the prices of the items as the cost of ingredients had increased.

“I cannot sell the items with last year’s price as there has been a price hike for cashew nuts, almond and flour,” she said.

“I feel bad about selling at a higher price, but I have to accept the reality the price of everything has gone up now, especially after the introduction of Goods and Services Tax last year.”

Ismail Ariffin, 48, who sells rice at the same bazaar, said prices of chicken and vegetables had increased and he had to hike prices between RM1.20 and RM2. He said he charged RM5.50 for a packet of rice with a piece of chicken, some okra and an egg. The same items were sold for RM4.50 in previous years.

Seafood stall operator Noor Anisa Mohd Desa, 31, who started her business four years ago, echoed the same sentiment.

“The basic products and ingredients I use to prepare my dishes are mainly crabs and prawns, but of late, they have gone up by almost 20 per cent due to the decline in catch by the fishermen,” Anisa said.

“I try to manage without hiking my prices as I have so many regular clients.”

Anisa said she was paying RM32 per kg for crabs compared to RM25 to RM26 last year, and RM40 for prawns, which was about RM8 more expensive than last year’s price.

She also had to pay an additional of RM4 to RM6 this year for a kg of sea shells, which only cost her RM8 to RM9 last year.

However, Naim Noor, 31, who runs Sate Kebab Malaiu Panahan Arjuna at the Balik Pulau bazaar, said although the cost of food items had gone up, he still charged his customers at a reasonable rate.

“I cannot charge my customers exorbitantly as it will only turn them away to other stalls. It is the fasting month and we should not be out to make unreasonable profit,” Naim said.

He also said prices of beef and chicken had risen about 10 per cent, but he did not pass the extra cost to his customers.

Naim said a kg of beef cost him RM10 this year compared to RM8 last year and approximately RM9 per kg of chicken which was priced at around RM7.50 last year.