The prices of staple foods such as fruits and vegetables, pork and chicken, have all maintained a high position this year. What will happen now that the summer has arrived? The price of vegetables normally shows a seasonal decline in the summer. The price of vegetables did show rapid readjustment in May, but the price is still 18.4% higher than around this time in the last three years.
Zhang Jing, chief analyst for the vegetable market early warning team at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, explained the following:
There are three main reasons for the high vegetable price:
1. The overall surface area devoted to vegetable plantation this spring declined in comparison with last year because the vegetable price was low in the winter.
2. Major production areas of winter vegetables and spring vegetables suffered from an unexpected "cold spell" in early spring. Furthermore, excessive rainfall and limited sun hours affected vegetable production as well. The weather delayed the growth of vegetables. This type of weather continued into spring in south China, which badly affected the development of open-field vegetables. Even glasshouse vegetables suffered from insufficient sunshine and the overall production volume was low. Furthermore, the shift from one production area to another did not proceed smoothly and this further pushed the price up.
3. Agricultural and labor costs have both increased in recent years as the requirements for green production became stricter and workers drained from the countryside.
Watermelons are expected to become the driving force of the Chinese fruit market between June and September. Their price is already relatively low. Production areas in Shaanxi and Shandong began to supply the market with large volumes of peaches, apricots, large cherries, and muskmelons in late May. Their price is lower than last year.
Source: ce.cn