Wholesale prices for vegetables continued to surge yesterday, rising about 7 percent from a day earlier following persistent rain brought by the outer periphery of Tropical Storm Aere, the Agriculture and Food Agency said.
In the Taipei Fruit and Vegetable Market — which serves as the benchmark for food prices in the nation — the average price of vegetables rose to NT$54.3 per kilogram yesterday from NT$50.7 a day earlier, the agency said.
Constant rainfall over the past few days has badly affected vegetable production and reduced supplies by about 2 percent from 1,333 tonnes on Monday to 1,305 tonnes yesterday, it said.
Fruit and vegetable prices have remained high because of damage to crops caused by typhoons Meranti and Megi on Sept. 14 and Sept. 27 respectively, the agency said.
After Typhoon Megi hit the nation on Sept. 27, vegetable prices jumped about 65 percent from NT$30.3 per kilogram on Sept. 28 to NT$50.1 per kilogram on Sept. 29, it said.
It will take time to restore vegetable production, the agency said, adding that it expects prices to return to normal levels by the end of this month.
The agency has asked farmers’ groups to increase imports, aiming to prepare 6,000 tonnes of vegetables for the next two to three weeks in a bid to maintain a steady supply of vegetables.
It also plans to release 1,695 tonnes of stockpiled cabbage, root crops and other types of vegetables to the market.
It is also helping farmers freeze their produce, which will be delivered to supermarkets around the nation, the agency said.
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