KOTA KINABALU: For less than RM10, a family of five can get a week’s supply of greens near the Cyber City residential area in Kepayan, near here.
Known as the Fruits and Vegetables Wholesale Market, it is arguably the cheapest place to buy perishables from all over the state.
The main items sold at the market are lowland vegetables from districts along the west coast and Keningau in the interior, and highland vegetables from Kundasang in Ranau.
Depending on the season, lowland vegetables, such as spinach, bak choy, aubergine, bitter gourd, wild ferns and cucumber are sold at RM1 per kg, but packed in a bag that can hold up to a minimum of 3kg.
Highland vegetables, such as cabbage, tendrils, tomato, broccoli and mushroom are also sold in similar 3kg packages, and priced between RM1 and RM7 per kg.
The market opens daily from 7am to 6pm and the stalls are frequented by retailers, hawkers, restaurant and canteen operators, as well as housewives.
Patrons are mostly from around here and nearby districts such as Penampang, Putatan and Papar. However, there are also people from Brunei and Sarawak who come regularly to purchase in bulk.
Lowland vegetable seller Ferri Hendry, 25, said most of his customers were retailers who would buy in bulk. Ferri gets his supply from growers who send their vegetables directly to the market. There are also middlemen who collect greens from farms.
“Some people will pool their money to buy in bulk and divide the vegetables among themselves,” he said.
A regular customer, Samsiah Sirat, 43, drives an hour from her home in Papar to buy vegetables in bulk as she supplies vegetables to a home for the disabled.
“Each time, I buy six or seven types of vegetables to be supplied to the home and use some of it for my own family,” said Samsiah, who visits the market three times a week.
Another regular, Evelyn Paunil, 42, visits the market once a week to buy RM100 worth of vegetables and resells them in her hometown of Kinarut.
She would unpack the 3kg bags and sell the vegetables about twice the wholesale price at her stall at the Kinarut market.