Local hypermarket chains have seen sales of blenders jump in past few weeks as a result of the growing demand for fresh food amid the nation’s food safety scare.
A.mart said its sales of blenders and food processors has grown more than 10 percent since the scare broke out in the middle of last month when compared with the same period last year.
A.mart’s sales of these products have doubled recently, which means more than 100 blenders and food processors were sold at each outlet per week.
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, Carrefour said its blender sales increased 30 percent soon after the food scare started, and have recently soared by 50 percent. On average, more than 3,000 blenders were sold at its outlets nationwide each week.
Blender sales also jumped at RT-Mart, another major hypermarket operator, by 30 percent last week, and the company expects sales to continue rising this week. At present, more than 1,000 blenders are being sold at RT-Mart outlets in Taiwan per week.
The strong sales came after the discovery of industrial chemicals in food and beverage products in Taiwan last month, which caused a public panic and forced the government to launch nationwide checks aimed at preventing tainted foods from reaching the market.
Meanwhile, agriculture officials said on Thursday that domestic fruit prices late last month and early this month have increased by 20 percent to 40 percent from the same period last year, due largely to a reduced harvest and the recent plasticizer scare.
According to Chen Wen-deh (陳文德), director of the Agriculture and Food Agency, the supply of fruit is lower this summer because the harvest seasons were delayed by an abnormally cold winter.
From May 23 to Thursday, the volume of domestic fruit trade was 14.9 percent less than in the same period last year as a result of decreased supply, while the average wholesale price rose 23.56 percent to NT$27.8 per kilogram, Chen said.
The fluctuations have been especially obvious this month, he said. During the period from June 1 to Thursday, fruit trade volume dropped by 17.76 percent from last year, with the average wholesale price soaring 41.23 percent to NT$29.8 per kilogram, he said.
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