Haze affecting migratory birds

No escape: Migratory birds find their way by the stars and the haze blanketing the region is
making their annual journey perilous.
JOHOR BARU: The haze is also affecting migratory birds making their annual journey here to
escape the winter of east Asia.
People think the haze has caused them problems but animals, in particular migratory birds, have
it much worse, said Malaysian Nature Society Johor chairman Vincent Chow said.
They need to see the stars to guide them from East Asia to South-East Asia, making their way to
the coastline of Johor to find food such as small fish, he said.

Chow said the haze this time around was much worse than previous years. Migratory birds
usually choose Johor to escape the winter cold of China, South Korea and Japan. The birds
usually begin their thousand-mile journey when winter is near in East Asia and they travel south
by using the East Asia-Australia flyway.
In spring, which is between February and March, they will make their return journey up north, as
food such as insects would be plentiful for them there.
Chow said other animals were also finding it hard to live through the haze which brought ash and
a nauseating smell with it, making it difficult for them to find food in the wild.

Haze choking farms too

Taking no chances: Farmer Ong Siew Seng, 68, checking his vegetables at his farm in Kampung
Paya Rumput in Sungai Udang, Malacca. In the background is the worsening haze. A.
MALEX YAHAYA/ The Star
PETALING JAYA: Chickens are dying by the millions in a month, farm produce is dwindling,
vegetables are wilting, and end consumers are set to be the biggest losers all because of the
haze.

Vegetables production in several states is down by a third, sending prices up by more than twofold. And farmers are saying that if the haze were to continue, prices will go even higher.
Penang and Province Wellesley Farmers Association chairman Loo Choo Gee estimated that on
average two to three million broiler chickens in the northern region of Penang, Kedah, Perlis and
Perak die in a month because of the haze.
He added that this was a big issue every year and that at times the mortality rate could rise up to
four million of the 50 million that are produced in a month in peninsular Malaysia.
Chickens are more sensitive to the haze than humans. They have respiratory problems and
become weak. We have to give them vitamins. When they are weak, they are slow to grow and
that is not good, said Loo, who is also a farmer.
He said that during the haze they would need to increase the price of chicken by 10sen to 20sen
per kilo from around RM4.50 to RM4.70.
Many farmers try and keep the breeder chickens that are meant for culling alive so they can lay
more eggs. But even hens become weak during the haze and lay fewer eggs, said Loo.
Sarawak Livestock Breeders Association chairman Lee Jin Chiaw said that egg production has
dropped by about 2%.
In Johor, the owner of Lew Brothers Poultry Farm Sdn Bhd, Lew Kim Huat said that egg
production at its two farms in Ulu Tiram and Layang had declined to about 5% since the start of
the haze.
Our hens are becoming restless and weak, he said adding that about 28,000 of the 700,000
birds also died due to suffocation, about twice the usual number of deaths.
Lew said, normally each bird produces 25 eggs per month but for the past one month they
produced between 15 and 20 eggs each.
In Kota Tinggi, Johor, long beans cost RM6 per kg compared with RM2 to RM3 before the haze
period.
A wholesaler, Tan Pak Looi, cautioned that the price of chillies, now at RM6 per kg, was
expected to rise in the next two to three months.
The current batch of chillies survived as they were planted and harvested before the haze, he
added.
Tan said vegetables production had fallen due to a lack of sunlight while the lack of rain had
worsened the situation.

Penang Island Vegetable Wholesalers Association chairman Tan Ban Ben said the prices of
certain vegetables had doubled due to the haze.
The weather has also affected the production of spring onions and celery which have doubled in
price, he said adding that spring onions used to cost RM5 to RM6 two weeks ago, but the
wholesale price is now RM12.
A vegetable supplier in George Town, V. Raj, 47, said wholesale prices of vegetables from
Cameron Highlands have gone up by 50%.
Profits have also been cut by at least 20%. Chinese broccoli (kai-lan) increased from RM2.50 to
RM5 while Chinese cabbage also rose to RM2.50 from RM1.20 and tomatoes from RM4 to
RM6, he said.
Farmer Khor Tiam Seng, 38, from Cameron Highlands, said vegetable production there had
dropped by 10% to 20%.
I had to increase my prices in order to maintain profit. And it is the customers who will have to
pay more.
Published: Friday October 2, 2015 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Friday October 2, 2015 MYT 7:25:21 AM

Two-month-long haze shrinks fruits along with profits

PETALING JAYA: The two-month long haze is causing a lower yield of crop, fruits and
vegetables.
One of the main producers of Cavendish banana in the country, Kulim (M) Bhd is expecting a
low year-end harvest due to the haze.
Kulim Montel Farm manager Omar Rohani said the haze had badly affected the growth of new
buds at its two banana farms in Kota Tinggi and Renggam, Johor.
He said the banana trees at the 165ha and the 110ha farms only produced about 4,500 and 6,000
new buds.
This is about half of what our farms normally produce, Omar said yesterday.
He pointed out that in July and August, the plants at the Kota Tinggi produced about 11,948 buds
and those in Renggam 10,538 buds.
Omar said the estimated sales from the July and August fruits were expected to be between
RM240,000 and RM260,000.

We expect our sales in October and November to go down to between RM180,000 and
RM200,000, he said adding that even the size of the fruits were also smaller because of the
haze.
Omar said this years haze, which had prolonged for almost 35 days, was the worst compared
with last years which lasted less than a month.
According to Dr Mohd Norowi Hamid, who is the director of Agrobiodiversity and Environment
Research Centre in Mardi, the haze reduced the photosynthesis rate because less sunlight reached
the plants.
He cited the case that occurred in Serdang during 2013 when a 50% reduction in sunlight caused
a 40% lower photosynthesis rate in the corn plants. This in turn had reduced the yield.
Dr Mohd Norowi said with padi, if the haze occurred during the grain filling stage, the crop
would face a reduction of 1.2%.
He said the two rice planting seasons in Sekinchan, Selangor were from the start of January to
the end of April and the start of July to the end of October.