Rising costs: Sarawak Kek Lapis Association wants to cooperate with baking supply stores

KUCHING: The Sarawak Kek Lapis (layered cake) Entrepreneurs Association plans to hold discussions with baking goods suppliers soon to avoid a sharp increase in the price of the state's iconic home products.

Its chairman, Zubaidah Sahadar, said it is hoped that the discussions would result in a win-win situation between entrepreneurs and suppliers as well as their customers.

"Kek lapis producers are worried over the recent increase in prices of ingredients such as wheat flour, chicken eggs, and butter. Its mentally straining trying to overcome the increase in costs and to earn enough to pay for expenses or break even," she told Bernama.

Apart from that, the entrepreneurs, who usually order up to 20 trays of chicken eggs a day, can only afford to buy 10 trays now, and this also affects the quantity they produce.

"If there is cooperation between the two parties, it would ease our access to baking supplies since we need the ingredients in large quantities," said Zubaidah, while hoping that special price would be given to its members.-- MORE

Zubaidah, 57, said members of the association had to increase the price of their products from RM10 to RM12 per box, depending on the types of cakes.

The Zue Kek Lapis Sarawak owner who has been in the business for almost three decades, believed that demand for baking supplies among kek lapis entrepreneurs too has increased.

Meanwhile, Ezza Kek Lapis entrepreneur, Azida Mohamad Hepni, 45, said she hoped customers would understand the situation and the need to increase the price of kek lapis.

"Some of us had to make the cake smaller to ensure its quality and for the price to remain the same. However, some customers are willing to pay more as its a must-have during the festive season.

"The kek lapis business is slowly thriving again as we were also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Peninsular Malaysia had been our biggest market, but we could not deliver back then due to various restrictions," she added.

-- BERNAMA