IPOH: The price of greens has fallen sharply and farmers are blaming several factors including imports from China and a bountiful harvest due to good weather.?

Farmer Yong Ah Choon said he was getting between 50 sen and 60 sen for a kilo of his choy sum.

"Two weeks ago, choy sum fetched between RM1.50 and RM2 a kilo but today, it has gone down drastically,? he said when met at his farm on Wednesday."

Yong, who has been a vegetable farmer for the past 15 years, said he was fortunate he could fall back on his chillies to break even as they still fetched a good price.

The 53-year-old Yong said one kilogram of chillies could fetch between RM3.50 and RM4.

"Chillies were sold at RM4.20 a kg two weeks ago," added Yong.

Another farmer, Liew Yow Fatt, 48, also lamented the drop in the price of local greens since Christmas.

"The weather here has been good and there is more supply than demand," said Liew, who is also Kinta Farmers Association chairman.

He added that the import of greens from China had resulted in the flooding of vegetables in the market.

"Greens like spinach and kangkong are very cheap now," he said.

However, he pointed out that red and green chillies, and bitter gourd, still fetched high prices.

Liew added that the increasing price of fertilisers was becoming a burden to farmers.

The price of a 50kg packet of fertiliser has gone up from RM75 to RM110, he said, adding that it was expected to hit RM120 by next month.

In Karak, Wong Khun Ket, a 38-year-old farmer who plants vegetables like choy sum, kailan and kangkong, said a good harvest had caused the price of greens to drop several days ago.

Wong, who sells his greens in Bentong, Raub and Gua Musang in Kelantan, said, "There are a lot of vegetables in the market and therefore prices are low."

As to whether prices would continue to plunge, Wong said it would depend on demand.

Another farmer, Tan Kai Lai, 57, from Bukit Baru, Malacca, said prices of several types of greens had dropped due to the start of the school year.

"It is normal as when school starts, people spend money buying books so they have less money for marketing."