Vegetable prices usually soar in typhoon seasons due to limited production, but two major hypermarket operators have bucked the trend to launch a price war.
RT-Mart (
No shortage
Its other 21 stores would sell water spinach at NT$8 per bunch, she said, adding that supplies were sufficient as the contracts with suppliers had been inked months ago and would not change despite the fact that Tropical Storm Bilis (
Vegetables supplied to its 23 stores nationwide totaled 50 tonnes on Wednesday and doubled to 100 tonnes yesterday, compared with the normal delivery of 20 tonnes, she said.
Carrefour
To compete with its smaller rival, Carrefour Taiwan is also offering special prices for two kinds of leafy vegetables at its Neihu and Dazhi stores.
They will be sold at NT$9 for two bunches until July 25, when the promotion ends, public relations manager Dream Lin (林夢紹) said.
Its remaining 41 stores would also promote vegetables starting at NT$8 per bunch.
Prices for other vegetables and fruits had been increased by between 20 percent and 30 percent, still undercutting the average 50 percent hike in traditional markets, she said.
Lin advised price-sensitive consumers to rather purchase rootstocks, such as carrots and onions, or imported farm produce, such as celery and lettuce, to avoid the short-term price fluctuations.
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Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
EXPANSION: While Gigabyte Technology is optimistic about market demand this year, uncertainty remains due to the impact of potential US tariffs and currency fluctuations Motherboard and graphics card maker Gigabyte Technology Co (技嘉) yesterday said that it plans to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) server assembly line in the US in the second half of this year. The company’s core motherboard and graphics card businesses in the US remain stable, but sales of its higher-priced AI servers still hinge on the development of tariff policies, Gigabyte chairman Dandy Yeh (葉培城) told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taipei. Yeh was referring to the “reciprocal” tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump on April 2, which were later postponed for 90 days. While Gigabyte