Last week was the coldest week since the beginning of winter. The whole of China was covered in rain and snow, and snowstorms are happening frequently. This is bad news for the vegetable industry. Because of the continuing cold air, the vegetable reserves in many regions have been nearly exhausted. As there is no new supply, the vegetable prices naturally go up. The roads are covered in snow, and the fields are flooded, so the vegetable distribution is very much affected. This is the main reason for the vegetable price increase of last week.
In Shandong, this vegetable price increase is also very visible. Some prices have increased dramatically. Especially the leafy vegetables have been affected by the weather. For root vegetables, however, this is not the case, and their prices are relatively stable. The regions that are affected the most are now taking protective measures. The main problem in the middle of China is the transportation. The continuous snowfall has made this quite a challenge. Some vegetables are spending a very long time on the road. The largest problem is that the vegetable price will be influenced by the transportation costs.
The major price increase has been for leafy vegetables. Other vegetable prices have been gradually increasing. The main reasons for the price increases are the damaged fields by snow, the increasing transportation costs, and the consumption of the existing vegetable reserves. Because the weather will be slightly better this week, the vegetable prices will gradually stabilize. However, it will take quite some time for the prices to go down again.
Source: Chinagronet.com