KEMAMAN: The government has been asked to review the sugar price increase of 20 sen per kilogramme effective Jan 1.
The hike announced by the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry was received by surprise and the business community saw the move as raising much negative effect.
Consumers and traders in the state met by Bernama said the 20 sen hike was too high, especially for the lower income group.
Zahari Awang, 39, a fisherman in Pantai Kemasik here, said the hike added to the already burdensome weight of meeting family needs.
“Maybe for some people 20 sen is nothing, but by just earning a living as a fisherman, my income is not sufficient,” he lamented.
A retailer in Paka, Mohd Hanafi Yusof, 45, said the prices of all sugar-related items would rise.
A restaurant operator, Zuraidah Abdullah, 30, said the price rise was sudden and too high.
She said all this while she did not intend to raise food prices but was now forced to do so.
Meanwhile, the vice-president of the Terengganu Consumers Association, Othman Abdullah said the 20 sen hike was too high.
“We do not deny the need for the government to raise the price but the increase should be lower, not up to 20 sen,” he said. — Bernama