KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah West Coast Coffee Shop Association has yet to be informed of the new pricing for edible tube ice by producers here, but confirmed that the prices of beverages would definitely be increased due to the price hike for raw materials.
The association chairman Yong Chee Yun said he had already contacted ice producers and was told that the latter had yet to decide on the new price of edible tube ice. It was said that a decision on the revised price would be known after January 15.
“Till now the price of ice remains the same at RM2.60 for a bag of tube ice.”
Yong said the Malaysia-Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors General Association expected edible tube ice to cost RM4 per bag here, but he personally thought it would cost lesser than that, perhaps around RM3.60.
Ice manufacturers in Peninsular Malaysia have recently announced the price hike by 50 sen per bag of tube ice starting January 1. The manufacturers cited the increase in electricity tariff and fuel price as well as the implementation of minimum wage as reasons for higher costs of production and distribution.
Although the revised price is still unknown here, Yong said the price of beverages in coffee shops would definitely increase as the costs of raw materials such as condensed milk, evaporated milk and Milo had gone up.
Yong expected the price hike for beverages to be around 20 per cent, which would happen after the Chinese New Year.
Nonetheless, Yong said the association would need to consult with the Malaysia-Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors General Association on the revised price of edible tube ice and new pricing for beverages.
Sabah West Coast Coffee Shop Association has around 350 members.
Yong added that coffee shop operators had to increase the price of beverages due to higher costs of electricity tariff, tube ice, sugar, fuel and the implementation of the minimum wage policy, or else could not sustain their businesses.
He said City Hall’s requirement for all coffee shop workers to undergo health checkups were also a burden for operators as employers had to fork out RM150 for each employee for the screening.
Although City Hall had said the cost of health screening would be equally borne by the employer and employee, Yong pointed out that employees could not afford to pay for the checkup. The health screening was said to be a requirement for operators to renew their licences.
He added that some employees quit working a few days after they started their job, leaving employers to bear the loss of paying for their health screenings.