The nice, sunny weather, has allowed the growth of cabbages to flourish and while the Chinese New Year demand was high, the market price of the overly abundant vegetables has now dropped to less than NT$5 per kilogram. Three heads of napa cabbage cost only NT$50, while bok choy is priced at NT$20 each. The Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday launched measures to stabilize vegetable prices and compensate farmers by putting a stop to the cabbage overproduction and hoeing all excess vegetables. According to numbers compiled by the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Co., the average cost per kilogram for vegetables this year is NT$16.1; among those numbers, cabbages and radishes are all estimated at NT$5 per kilogram and below, with vegetables deemed less fresh dropping to NT$2 per kg.
With the unbelievably cheap price of cabbage, one as big as a person's head, affordable cauliflower and small bok choy (both NT$10 each), a person can feed an entire family for days and spend less than NT$100 to boot. In the face of the global food hike, consumers are flocking toward the vegetable stands. However, sales after Chinese New Year have dwindled significantly. A 25 percent decline has been measured in February compared with the month before, according to the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Company. The warming weather has caused the vegetables to grow at great speed, increasing the demand amidst diminishing need. In order for markets to compete, the vegetables are priced lower and lower to attract customers.
The COA had tried to monitor vegetable growth through registered areas of arable farmland per hectare; farmers who owned cabbage farms that exceeded 150 hectares were issued a warning. The Agriculture and Food Agency has already issued three warnings, to no avail, as farmers continued to overproduce vegetables at record speed. A COA representative lamented the fact that it was the farmers who failed to heed the warnings, and now, after the market has been oversaturated, they're turning to the COA for help. However the council will push forward with price stabilizing initiatives by hoeing all farmlands cultivating cabbages and bok choy, from today until March 8.
With the unbelievably cheap price of cabbage, one as big as a person's head, affordable cauliflower and small bok choy (both NT$10 each), a person can feed an entire family for days and spend less than NT$100 to boot. In the face of the global food hike, consumers are flocking toward the vegetable stands. However, sales after Chinese New Year have dwindled significantly. A 25 percent decline has been measured in February compared with the month before, according to the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Company. The warming weather has caused the vegetables to grow at great speed, increasing the demand amidst diminishing need. In order for markets to compete, the vegetables are priced lower and lower to attract customers.
The COA had tried to monitor vegetable growth through registered areas of arable farmland per hectare; farmers who owned cabbage farms that exceeded 150 hectares were issued a warning. The Agriculture and Food Agency has already issued three warnings, to no avail, as farmers continued to overproduce vegetables at record speed. A COA representative lamented the fact that it was the farmers who failed to heed the warnings, and now, after the market has been oversaturated, they're turning to the COA for help. However the council will push forward with price stabilizing initiatives by hoeing all farmlands cultivating cabbages and bok choy, from today until March 8.
