Consumers in Penang Urged to Replace Fresh Coconut Milk with Other Options

The Consumers Association Penang (CAP) has said people should learn how to do without fresh coconut milk in their recipes since the price of fresh coconut milk has skyrocketed, reported in The Star, George Town, on March 20.  

CAP president, Mohideen Abdul Kader suggested consumers use evaporated milk to get a creamy texture for curries, sauces and cakes since coconut milk is so expensive at this time, thus should be avoided.  From less than RM10 per kilo last year, the price has now gone up to RM17, while some recent news reports stated that it had reached RM20 in Kelantan.

According to Abdul Rahim Omar, who sells fresh coconut milk at the Taman Tun Sardon market in Gelugor, the price of fresh coconut milk was steady at RM3 to RM5 per kilo since 1998, and only went up to RM11 in 2024. As for whole husked coconuts, the price had increased from RM2.7 to RM3.6 each, he said.