Sixty-four public markets in Taipei pledged not to raise vegetable prices after typhoons Nari and Lekima devastated vegetable farms nation-wide.
Citing a survey on vegetable prices at local public markets, inspectors from the Taipei Municipal Market Administration (台北市市場管理處) of the Taipei City Government said Saturday that vegetable prices are up slightly but are still within a reasonable range.
Scallion, for example, cost NT$200 per kilogram. Customers can expect to pay NT$100 or more for 1kg of Chinese cabbage.
"It is crazy," said a customer surnamed Chen who was doing her grocery shopping. "It cost me about NT$300 to NT$400 for vegetables today."
But vegetable vendors said the prices are reasonable.
"If the difference between the retail price and the invoice price is less than NT$15 per kilogram, then it will actually be a reasonable range," said Chang Jui-nan (張瑞南), chairman of the Management Association of the Nan-men Public Market (南門市場自治會). "However, all of the 64 managers from local public markets have signed an agreement stating that we will not raise our prices even though the invoice prices are climbing."
The director of the Taipei Municipal Market Administration, Fang Chin-kui (
"Leafy vegetables are easily damaged and need a longer growing cycle, which is about three weeks or so," Fang said. "It will take about a month for prices to stabilize at pre-typhoon levels."
"Also, vegetables are not the kinds of products which you can temporarily keep in the fridge and then sell in a week or so," he added.
To help local public markets stabilize prices, the Taipei Municipal Market Administration has imported 17 containers of cabbage, lettuce and celery as an emergency supply for local public markets.
Inspectors and officials from local market management also said that they would conduct random price checks occasionally to make sure that vegetable prices stay within a reasonable range.
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