Malaysian favourites, roti canai and teh tarik are set to increase in price by 10% to 15% as restaurant owners are bogged down by the growing cost of ingredients.

Revealed in a report by news portal The Malaysian Insights, this means the public can soon expect the price of roti canai – which averages at about RM1.60 per piece – to hike up to RM2.20. Meanwhile, a glass of teh tarik could jump from RM1.80 to RM2.50.

The president of the Malaysian Indian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma), Jawahar Ali Taib Khan said that its members have not raised their prices yet, but noted that there are talks of doing so. “For the time being, we will try to maintain our prices. But we don’t know for how long. If prices of goods keep going up, then we will consider it. There will be a 10% increase at most,” he said.  

Jawahar Ali also shared some examples of the price hikes in ingredients that restaurant owners need to contend with; for instance, a bag of flour (25kg) – which retailed at the price of RM49.90 back in January – has now shot up to RM62.90. Meanwhile, the price of margarine has gone up from RM85 to RM100.

“We are not going for more profit, but volume of sales. We don’t want to burden the people as everyone is suffering. Business has picked up now, but the only issue we still face is shortage of staff,” Jawahar Ali further said.

The rising cost of living has become a major cause of concern for Malaysians as of late, particularly given recent inflationary pressures. In particular, food inflation is expected to continue increasing within the country as Malaysia is deemed a net food-importing country that relies heavily on food imports from other countries.

(Sources: The Malaysian Insight, The Sun Daily)

• TAGS:
• Cost of Living
• Food Inflation
• Jawahar Ali Taib Khan
• Malaysian Indian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association
• Mamak
• Roti Canai
• Teh Tarik