A look into current vegetable price trends

Vegetable prices have increased more than in previous years

At Beijing Xinfadi Agricultural Products Wholesale Market, reporters saw crowded refrigerated trucks and vans with open back compartments, displaying neatly stacked bundles of vegetables. “The price of pakchoy was 81 cents per pound, but it has risen to more than 4 yuan this month.” Ms. Wang, the stall owner, said that the pakchoy purchased was produced in Xianghe, Hebei. The local heavy rain not only affected the production of pakchoy, but also made it more difficult to purchase.

The relevant person in charge of Xinfadi Market told reporters that on August 19, the weighted average price of wholesale vegetables in Xinfadi Market was 4 yuan/kg, up 37.93% from the previous month and 28.21% from the same period last year. According to statistics, the price in mid-August this year was at its highest point in the same period in the past five years.

Vegetable prices in traditional summer and autumn vegetable producing areas such as the Huanghuaihai region, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the Bohai Rim region have also risen. The monthly review of the vegetable index of Shouguang Agricultural Products Logistics Park shows that among the top ten vegetable category indexes monitored in July, seven categories have risen. Among the top ten vegetable category indexes monitored during the week of August 12 to 18, nine categories rose, with the most obvious increases being cabbage, beans, leafy vegetables, and aquatic vegetables.

In a supermarket in Anqing, Anhui, many citizens were shopping in the vegetable section. Ms. Wang, a citizen, told reporters that in the past half month, vegetable prices have generally risen, especially fresh leafy vegetables such as spinach and Shanghai greens, which have seen a large increase in prices.

May to October each year is the off-season for the production of melons and vegetables in Hainan. Due to the limited local vegetable production, the supply needs to be transported in large quantities from outside the island. “This year, the heavy rainfall in the main vegetable producing provinces has affected production and further raised prices. At present, the average purchase price of various vegetables has increased by 1 to 1.5 yuan per catty.” Chen Jianhua, director of the agricultural production department of Haikou Cailanzi Food Engineering Co., Ltd., said.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in July, the price of fresh vegetables rose by 9.3% month-on-month and 3.3% year-on-year. The national “vegetable basket” product wholesale price index released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs rose from 111.57 on June 20 to 134.11 on August 20, an increase of 20.2%; the average price of 28 key monitored vegetables rose from 4.32 yuan/kg to 6.09 yuan/kg, an increase of 40.97%.

Multiple factors have driven vegetable prices up

From the rules of previous years, vegetable prices fluctuate seasonally. In July and August, hot and rainy weather is not conducive to the growth of open-field vegetables. Generally, vegetable prices will turn into an upward channel at this time of year.

Why is the increase in vegetable prices greater this year?

Extreme weather is a major factor. Zhang Jing, an associate researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Information of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, introduced that this summer, my country’s overall rainfall was higher, and strong convective weather such as heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds occurred in Hunan, Shandong, Sichuan, Anhui and other places. Some places also suffered from floods and waterlogging disasters, which hindered the production, harvesting and transportation of local vegetables.

The unfavorable weather has caused great trouble to many vegetable growers. “Affected by the changeable climate such as high temperature and high humidity this summer, pests and diseases are frequent, the quality of vegetables has declined, and the yield has decreased relatively.” Zhang Chunbao, head of Chenglin Vegetable Professional Cooperative in Shouguang City, Shandong Province, said.

Xin Dengqing, a vegetable farmer in Xinjiaqiao Village, Hualong Town, Shouguang, who has more than 10 years of experience in vegetable planting, told reporters that due to frequent rainfall and continuous high temperatures, greenhouse vegetables are not growing as well as in previous years. In order to reduce the impact of high temperature weather, sunshade nets and cooling agents are used on the greenhouse film to reduce high temperature damage and increase planting costs.

High temperature and continuous heavy rainfall not only led to a decrease in vegetable yields, but also affected the quality of vegetables, increasing the difficulty of harvesting vegetables and the cost of storage and preservation. In addition, my country’s vegetable production areas and sales areas are relatively separated, and cross-regional transportation further increases logistics costs.

“Several provinces with high vegetable production account for a high proportion of the national supply. This summer’s heavy rain and other weather have had a certain impact on the cross-regional transportation of vegetables, especially fresh leafy vegetables, resulting in an increase in the purchase and logistics costs of vegetables, which has temporarily and temporarily pushed up the retail vegetable price increase.” said Guo Liyan, deputy director of the Institute of Economics at the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomics.

However, industry insiders pointed out that the rise in vegetable prices this year is different from the price monopoly phenomena such as “Jiang Ni Jun” and “Suan Ni Hen” that have appeared in the market. The cold storage and cold chain storage costs of fresh leafy vegetables are high, and the loss rate is high. In addition, the mayor responsibility system for the “vegetable basket” has been implemented in various places. The illegal costs of raising prices and hoarding are high, and capital speculation is unlikely.

Prices are expected to gradually stabilize

How will vegetable prices trend in the later period? Industry insiders pointed out that the growth cycle of vegetables is relatively short. After the short-term impact and seasonal impact have subsided, the production of vegetables in the areas damaged by disasters in the early stage has gradually recovered, and the vegetables that were delayed in listing have been listed one after another. The market supply is expected to continue to increase, and prices will gradually stabilize.

Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs show that at present, the national vegetable field area is 106 million mu, an increase of 900,000 mu year-on-year, which is still at a relatively high level this year, and there is a basis for stable production and supply.

“Although seasonal rising factors still exist and some varieties may have poor crop connection, the cold vegetables in the north and high mountain and plateau areas will gradually enter the peak harvest season in the later period, and the market supply will be sufficient. It is expected that the upward space of vegetable prices will be limited.” Zhang Jing said.

Shanghai organized vegetable production bases to strengthen field management and harvesting operations, and rushed to plant high-temperature resistant and fast-growing vegetables such as chicken feather vegetables and rice amaranth; Beijing coordinated major wholesale markets such as Xinfadi to further expand supply channels, and organized large chain supermarkets and direct-operated direct supply companies to increase direct purchases from bases… From the front end of production to the end of retail, various places have taken multiple measures to stabilize the people’s “vegetable basket”.

Shouguang, Weifang, Shandong is an important vegetable production base and distribution center in the country. At Shouguang Agricultural Products Logistics Park, it was busy at 3 a.m. Vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, celery, and zucchini from Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Northeast China are traded here, with a current daily trading volume of about 6,000 tons.

“In order to cope with the high temperature, we have accelerated the pace of purchase and shipment and shortened the time vegetables stay in the market. At the same time, in order to stabilize vegetable prices, the logistics park continues to work hard to strengthen the connection between production and sales, vegetable distribution, etc., through peripheral transportation and increasing storage-resistant vegetables, so that citizens from all over the country can hold their “vegetable baskets” more steadily.” said Wang Haitao, a member of the Party Leadership Group of Shouguang Municipal Bureau of Commerce.

In Weining County, Guizhou Province, Liu Zhi, a large vegetable grower, is busy sending 20 tons of cabbage to Chengdu, Sichuan. “Our altitude here is more than 2,000 meters, which is suitable for growing off-season vegetables. The currently picked vegetables are directly shipped out of the province. For example, cabbage and pea tips are mainly sent to Sichuan, Chongqing and other places, and red cabbage is mainly supplied to Shanghai, Beijing, Xi’an, Wuhan and other places.” Liu Zhi said.

A relevant official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said that in response to the recent disastrous weather, the mayor’s responsibility system for the “vegetable basket” will be tightened and implemented, and the vegetable variety structure, planting scale and market listing will be rationally arranged. The main producing areas and large and medium-sized cities will be guided to further strengthen the connection between supply and demand, strengthen product production scheduling and market dynamics monitoring, and ensure adequate supply and stable prices.