Wholesale vegetable prices skyrocket

With Typhoon Sinlaku heading toward Taiwan, wholesale prices for vegetables increased by nearly 50 percent on average yesterday, to NT$24.8 per kilogram, up from NT$16.66 per kilogram on Tuesday.

"Because of consumer expectations [that vegetables will sell out and prices will rise], many retailers took advantage of the opportunity to drive up prices," said Chan The-yung (詹德榮), chief of the division of agricultural marketing at the Council of Agriculture.

Chan, however, said that yesterday's price rise was reasonable since farmers harvested their crops on Wednesday before the weather turned bad, providing a stockpile of 1,400 tons in Taipei -- 200 tons more than on average -- to meet demand.

"The overall impact is minimal now," he said.

Compared to Wednesday's vegetable prices, the steepest price increase yesterday was on Chinese cabbage, which rose from NT$28 per kilogram to NT$40 per kilogram. Baby bok choy rose from NT$15 per kilogram to NT$32 per kilogram, water spinach from NT$14 per kilogram to NT$30 per kilogram and lettuce from NT$16 per kilogram to NT$30 per kilogram, according to the council.

As of press time yesterday, fruit and vegetable prices remained stable, rising less than NT$10 per kilogram since most of Taiwan's farmlands are located in southern Taiwan, out of Typhoon Sinlaku's reach, Chan said.

Though stockpiling fresh foods prior to a typhoon's arrival is not as prevalent as it was in past years, fears of a shortage still brought many consumers into supermarkets yesterday.

"Our elders have always taught us to prepare extra food before typhoon days," a middle-aged man said yesterday while shopping at a traditional market in Taipei.

not yet re-tagged

The wholesale price rise did not trigger many retailer supermarkets to re-label prices on their produce, while some expect any real price rise to take place in the next three to five days.

"Vegetable prices did not go up today, but they may change daily," said Chan Ming-sung (詹明松), manager of a Wellcome Supermarket on Chungshiao East Road.

Welcome's chief operation's officer, Tsai Yu-jen (蔡裕人), said that a bigger rise is expected in the next few days if production prices see a great deal of fluctuation.

"But Wellcome will absorb part of the rise to keep the price rise acceptable," Tsai said.

Sharing a similar view, William Yang (楊維仁), senior supervisor of RT-Mart in Neihu, said that he expects any real price rise to come in five to six days if the typhoon destroys farmland.

The council's Chan, meanwhile, said that vegetable prices are expected to keep rising today, especially for leafy vegetables, which are easily damaged by strong winds and heavy rainfall.