Individuals frequenting coffee shops may soon need to pay more for their tea and coffee, as many kopitiam owners are considering increasing the price of their beverages by up to 60 sen starting from 2022.

According to the president of Malaysia-Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors General Association, Wong Teu Hoon, the hike in price could range between 20 to 60 sen, depending on the location of the shop. “The price will increase 20-30 sen in rural areas and 40-60 sen in urban areas. The rent is higher in certain areas, so the prices will also be higher,” he said.

Wong also stated that the price increase is necessary due to rising operating costs. “Recently, many things have become more expensive – from condensed milk and evaporated milk needed to make coffee or tea, to the salaries of employees, rent and cooking gas,” he said.

Additionally, Wong said that coffeeshop owners do not gain much from the price adjustment, explaining that most of them are only able to make a profit of RM20 if they sold 100 cups of coffee per day – even if the price went up by 20 sen per cup. “That amount is not enough to pay the salaries of foreign workers. At most, it is only a subsidy,” he shared, adding that the salary of a foreign worker has increased from RM1,200 to RM1,650. This is not including the annual agency fee, which has also gone up from RM6,000 to RM9,500.

Wong – who is also the president of the Malacca Coffee Shopkeepers’ Association – further said that most coffee shops in Malacca have abstained from increasing their prices in the past six years despite the rising costs. “This time, we are really forced to raise prices. Most businesses agree to start adjusting the beverage prices from 1 January,” he said.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Penang and Province Wellesley Café Association, Tan Kar Seong said that many coffee shop owners in the northern region were concerned about losing their customers if they were to increase their beverage prices. Most of them are currently relying on achieving large sales volumes to cover their costs and to gain small profits. “The price of everything is going up and no one knows what has gone wrong. The situation is really bad,” he said.

Coffee shops in the southern region, too, have yet to come to a consensus on this matter. The chairman of the Johor Baru Coffee, Restaurant, and Bar Operators Association, Tiong Kiu Wong said that his association is still observing the situation. “As far as I know, only a handful of coffee shops in Johor Baru have raised the prices of their beverages. The increase is small, about 10%. They may have faced rent pressure, so they raised prices,” he said.

(Source: Malay Mail)

• TAGS:
• Beverage Prices
• Coffee Shops
• Kopitiams
• Malacca Coffee Shopkeepers’ Association
• Malaysia-Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors General Association
• Penang and Province Wellesley Café Association
• Tan Kar Seong
• Tiong Kiu Wong
• Wong Teu Hoon