VERSION A: RM17.90 – the daily cost of a healthy diet in the Klang Valley

 PETALING JAYA: For many Malaysians struggling with the cost of living, the price of a healthy diet is getting harder to swallow as food prices continue to go up.

In conjunction with the United Nations’ World Food Day tomorrow (Oct 16), The Star went grocery shopping to find out how much it costs to eat healthy in the Klang Valley, where prices are typically higher compared to rural locations.

We went to a popular grocery outlet in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, to buy ingredients needed to cook and prepare a week’s worth of healthy meals for one person, based on information in the Health Ministry’s Malaysia Dietary Guidelines.

The ministry’s guide contains a menu of recommended meals along with ingredients, serving sizes and nutritional information.

Calculating from the total bill, we found that it would cost a person an average of RM17.90 per day to eat healthy, based on the meals listed in the guide.

Animal-source foods made up 30% of our bill, followed by vegetables (18.3%), starches (16.7%), oils and fats (16.2%), fruits and legumes (12.2%), nuts and seeds (6.7%).

Data from the World Bank meanwhile indicates a lower estimate of how much a healthy diet costs in Malaysia.

According to figures from the international financial institution, the minimum cost of a healthy diet in Malaysia is RM5.94 per person per day.

Such an amount will buy the least expensive locally available foods to meet the requirements for energy and food-based dietary guidelines for one person.

According to the World Bank, fruits make up the biggest portion of the cost for a healthy diet, at 24.9% or RM1.35 a day, followed by animal source foods at 23.8% (RM1.28) and vegetables at 20.8% (RM1.12).

Actual prices for food items will vary according to location and other factors, but according to Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) research associate Dr Teoh Ai Ni, the total price of a healthy diet in Malaysia is likely much higher than the World Bank’s estimate.

This is due to hidden costs such as time spent to acquire the food, food preparation, transportation cost, as well as energy and fuel costs.

“It does not fully capture the cost we incur every day.

“One is reason is that the definitions used by the World Bank and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reflect the most affordable locally available food.

“The fact is that as a consumer, we don't constantly go hunting for the most affordable options for us,” said Teoh, who wrote a KRI discussion paper in June about food environment and nutrition inequalities in Malaysia.

Teoh said that when prices of certain foods go up, many lower income earners cope by adjusting their spending.

“In many cases, they opt to spend on food that is higher in starch such as like rice, bread, grains.

“These foods will give more carbohydrates and more energy versus a diet with more fruits and vegetables that are full of nutrients but lower in energy,” she said.

The World Bank’s data shows that an estimated 1.8% of Malaysia’s population – which is about 600,000 people – could not afford to eat a healthy diet in 2022.

The figures also show that the share of Malaysia’s population who cannot afford a healthy diet has fallen over the years, from 4% in 2017 to 1.8% in 2022.

Teoh said the reduction is mainly due to numerous government policies.

They include food subsidies, cash transfer for the poor, food assistance and food banks.

The government has introduced several measures over the past few years to help lower-income earners.

They include electricity rebate, Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah.

Despite the drop, Teoh said the current situation cannot be taken lightly.

“We cannot underestimate the numbers because 600,000 is still a lot of people for Malaysia, an upper-middle-income country.”

Teoh said the cost of a healthy diet would likely continue to rise due to inflation.

Without a commensurate increase in income and wages, more people would not be able to afford a healthy diet. 

“That means this problem will persist or might even turn into a bigger issue, especially when our country is also facing an issue of wage stagnation,” she said.

Teoh said bigger households are spending increasingly more money eating out due to time costs.

This, she said, exposes them to more unhealthy food options, compared with eating at home.

“When you are cooking at home, you are more in control. When we eat out, we have more unhealthy options.”

The cost of a healthy diet can also be affected by locality and cultural or ethnic influences, said Teoh.

To support a healthier diet in Malaysia, she said it is crucial to invest in research and infrastructure for increasing fruit and vegetable production and to reduce food wastage, lower transportation costs, and stabilise food prices.

She said improving wages and addressing broader issues like urban planning and labour policies are essential to ensure that people can afford and have access to nutritious food.

World Food Day is an international day celebrated every year worldwide on October 16 to commemorate the date of the founding of the FAO in 1945.

The theme of this year's World Food Day is, “Right to foods for a better life and a better future.”

Read this story at TheStar.com.my for more details on what we bought and the meals we prepared.