AN EARLY rainy season has forced prices of several varieties of Malaysian vegetables up to 10-year highs.

At some wet markets here, customers are paying about $10 per kg for green and red chillies, double the price two months ago.

Chilli prices are at their highest in 10 years, said vegetable sellers.

Other vegetables have risen in price too.

Chinese lettuce grown now costs $6 per kg, up from $4 two months ago. And spring onions are sold at $8 per kg, up from $5 two months ago.

Leafy vegetables like cai xin and kai lan have also inched up by about $1, costing $2.50 per kg.

The reason: The early onset of the North-east Monsoon, which has caused vegetables to rot, leading to short supply from Malaysia, said importers here.

According to the weathermen at the National Environment Agency(NEA), the monsoon - which brings moderate to heavy rain usually lasting a few days to Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore - is set to continue into January.

Said Singapore Fruits and Vegetables Importers and Exporters Association chairman Tay Khiam Back: 'Leafy vegetables and chillies are grown outdoors, so they are easily damaged. Rainy season is bad for vegetables from Malaysia.'

But varieties grown in green houses - like tomatoes eggplants and capsicums - remain unaffected, he added.

In the meantime, wholesalers have turned to other countries for produce.

A major supplier of chillies here, Mr Gary Ong, now imports 700kg of chillies from China.

'We get chillies from China and buy less than half the amount of Malaysian chlli we used to,' said Mr Ong, 42. 'But they are smaller, less hot and not as pretty.'