Lower Mandarin orange supply due to China haze

Mandarin orange, an essential fruit for the celebration of the Chinese New Year, may lose its lustre this year following a steep hike in price compared to previous years.

Although it is less than a month before the Chinese community celebrate the Year of the Snake on Feb 10, a Bernama survey at several wholesale market fruit stalls in the federal capital found the sale of Mandarin oranges to be rather slow.

Many Mandarin orange sellers when met, agreed prices would rise this year as production of the fruit has been affected by the haze in China.

KL Fruit Sdn Bhd employee, Weng Hong, 29, said they were offering RM17 for a box of 20 XL-sized mandarin oranges and the price was expected to go up by RM1 to RM3 in a few days' time.

"The haze in China has affected yields as the fruit is damaged by the uncertain weather condition this time," he said.

However, Fruit Garden Klang Valley Sdn Bhd operator, Raja Erwan Raja Salim, 34, said demand for Mandarin oranges was brisk since the fruit arrived last month.

But the big buyers had softened their demand for the fruit due to the higher price, he added.

Jalan Petaling fruit hawker, S. Adnen, 30, said he did not keep large stocks of Mandarin oranges as the fruit was not selling that well, largely due to the more expensive fruit.

He said he used to sell a box of L-sized Mandarin oranges for RM24 but this year, the price had gone up to RM27.