Malaysia's consumers association is lobbying the government to import vegetables from China to counter the rising prices of fresh produce from flood-hit Thailand, reports the News Straits Times.

The move would stabilise the steep price of vegetables, such as red chillies, in Malaysia as supplies from Thailand continue to dwindle with the worsening floods there, Datuk Yusoff, the association's president, said.

'Bringing in vegetables from China is a viable alternative as some vegetables from there are cheaper,' he told the paper.

Malaysian traders have put up produce prices because of a shortage of supply from Thailand, their major supplier. Red chillies at Kedah wholesale market were this week selling for RM15 per kg (US$4.8), compared to RM8 per kg (US$2.56) previously, the report said.