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China National Radio Beijing August 16th News (Reporter Li Hongpeng Wang Ning) "The vegetable prices have gone up again." Recently, Ms. Zhu from Beijing went to the vegetable market and supermarket to buy vegetables and found that the vegetable prices were much higher than usual. Especially the green leafy vegetables, the price increase was relatively large.

Reporters found that vegetable prices have continued to rise recently not only in Beijing, but also in Hebei, Henan, Sichuan, Shandong and Anhui. According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the average price of vegetables has risen for six consecutive weeks.

On August 16, many industry insiders said in an interview with China National Radio that the main reason for the rise in vegetable prices is the impact of unfavorable climatic conditions such as high temperature, heavy rain and frequent typhoons, as well as insufficient agricultural facilities and high transportation costs, which is traditionally called the "lean period".

Data: Average vegetable prices have risen for six consecutive weeks

Ms. Zhu said that a few days ago, she went to a small vegetable market near her home to buy vegetables and found that beans were sold at 8 yuan per catty, loofahs at 7 yuan per catty, and tomatoes at 6 yuan per catty. "The relatively cheap winter melon was sold at 3.5 yuan per catty, so I cut a small piece and weighed it, and it cost 20 yuan."

Mr. Cui in Zhengzhou, Henan, also said that vegetable prices have risen significantly recently and have lasted for more than a month. According to him, the rise in vegetable prices is mainly related to the heavy rainfall in many places a while ago.

According to a farmer at a vegetable planting base in Houji Town, Zhenping County, Nanyang City, Henan Province, due to rain, one-third of winter melons and green onions in the town were damaged this year, and prices have risen a lot. The prices of many vegetables are twice as much as in previous years. "In the past few years, vegetable prices were low and the planting area was reduced by half. Take ginger as an example. The current local wholesale price of small ginger is 4 to 5 yuan per catty, and large ginger is 6 to 8 yuan. Winter melon, long beans and cucumbers have also increased in price."

Affected by the weather, vegetables in Houji Town, Zhenping County, Nanyang, Henan Province were affected and production was reduced (Photo provided by the interviewee and released by China National Radio)

A staff member of a town government in Henan told reporters that the massive rainfall in July caused local vegetables to rot. Vegetable production was uneven, and the local vegetables saw a significant reduction in production, causing the prices of green onions, tomatoes, cauliflower, peppers, celery and other vegetables to rise rapidly, with some vegetable prices rising by 2 to 3 times. In addition, the hot weather also affected vegetable planting, because the temperature was too high and it was difficult to maintain the vegetables after planting.

Data released by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs showed that in July, the average price of vegetables in Beijing's wholesale markets was 3.13 yuan per kilogram, a month-on-month increase of 16.4%; the average price of the 10 vegetables with the largest consumption by residents (cabbage, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, eggplant, cabbage, cauliflower, white radish, and pole beans) was 2.11 yuan per kilogram, a month-on-month increase of 20.6% and a year-on-year decrease of 3.7%. The average price of the 10 key monitored leafy vegetables was 3.23 yuan per kilogram, a month-on-month increase of 24.2% and a year-on-year decrease of 2.1%; the average price of 5 types of solanaceous vegetables was 3.51 yuan per kilogram, a month-on-month and year-on-year increase of 39.3% and 32.0% respectively.

At a supermarket in Fuyang, Anhui, the person in charge, Mr. Zhang, said that compared with mid-July this year, the price of green leafy vegetables has risen significantly recently. Among them, broccoli is 5 yuan per catty, an increase of 40%; celery is 3 yuan per catty, an increase of 50%; tomatoes are 2.5 yuan per catty, an increase of 40%.

"We couldn't sell them in June this year, but people started rushing to buy them in July." When talking about the price trend of vegetables since this summer, Mr. Xu, a vegetable grower in Cheqi Community, Huangshui Town, Shuangliu District, Chengdu City, lamented. He said that this summer, he planted more than 3 mu of vegetables, including tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and peppers.

According to data released by the Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Provincial Bureau of Statistics, in June this year, the average price of vegetables in Sichuan was lower than the annual average. However, in July, especially in mid-to-late July, vegetable prices began to rise rapidly. For example, the average price of vegetables in Sichuan on July 30 was 14.08% higher than that on July 11. In August, this upward trend continued.

On August 5, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs released the data of "Domestic and Foreign Agricultural Products Market Dynamics in Week 31 of 2024 (July 29-August 4)", showing that the average price of vegetables has risen for 6 consecutive weeks. Affected by the hot and rainy weather, the average wholesale price of vegetables continued to rise, and the increase this week increased. The average weekly price of 28 key monitored vegetables was 5.09 yuan per kilogram, up 4.5% from the previous month, an increase of 6 consecutive weeks, a cumulative increase of 18.1%, and 6.0% higher than the same period last year. In terms of varieties, the prices of 25 kinds of vegetables rose and 3 kinds fell. Among them, the prices of cucumbers, rapeseed and white radishes rose significantly, up 15.6%, 15.0% and 15.0% month-on-month respectively, and the prices of leeks, green onions, cabbage, lettuce and Chinese cabbage rose by 12.6%, 11.8%, 11.8%, 11.0% and 10.4% month-on-month respectively, and the price increases of other varieties were within 10%; the prices of lotus roots, carrots and mushrooms fell by 3.4%, 0.3% and 0.3% month-on-month respectively.

On August 13, the Shaanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission monitored the vegetable market prices in 10 cities, Hancheng City, and Yangling Demonstration Zone in the province, showing that the average market price of 23 kinds of vegetables has risen for seven consecutive weeks, with a cumulative increase of 22.9%; this week, it was 3.45 yuan per 500 grams, up 7.5% from August 6, and up 17.0% from the same period in 2023; by variety, 18 of the 23 kinds of vegetables rose in price, 2 fell in price, and 3 remained unchanged. For example, the average retail price of beans in the province was 5.11 yuan per 500 grams, up 13.3% from August 6; the average retail price of cucumbers in the province was 4.88 yuan per 500 grams, up 5.9% from August 6.

reason:Hot and rainy weather drives up vegetable prices

Ms. Zhu said that she specifically asked several vegetable vendors about the reason for the price increase. The vendors told her that due to the continuous rainfall in the past few days, the vegetables did not grow well or even did not grow at all, resulting in a reduction in production.

This summer, several major vegetable producing areas in my country generally suffered heavy rains, especially Henan and Shandong. The frequent rainfall forced many vegetables to reduce production, while the southern region encountered high temperatures, which was extremely unfavorable for vegetable growth.

Some vegetable farmers said that recently, some greenhouse leafy vegetables have just been planted, which is the transition period between land vegetables and greenhouse vegetables (Photo provided by the interviewee, released by China National Radio)

In addition, Ms. Shi, a vegetable farmer at a vegetable base in Fangshan District, Beijing, said that in addition to weather reasons, the increase in vegetable prices was also because there were no more land vegetables during this period, and greenhouse vegetables had just started to be planted, which was the transition period between planting land vegetables and greenhouse vegetables, so it was the time when vegetable prices were high.

"In June and July, the temperature in the greenhouse was high and it was difficult to grow vegetables. We are just starting to plant them now. The growth cycle of leafy vegetables takes about 28 days, and cucumbers and beans will not be harvested until two months later. Especially in Beijing, the local vegetable planting volume is small, and we mainly rely on importing vegetables from other places. If other places are affected by disasters, the local supply may be affected." said Ms. Shi.

Professor Hong Tao, Vice President of the China Consumer Economics Society and Director of the Institute of Business Economics at Beijing Technology and Business University, said that as supply and demand change, vegetable prices fluctuate, mainly affected by multiple factors such as nature, supply and demand, technology and policy. Under market economy conditions, vegetable prices are also affected by market speculation and price changes. The recent rise in vegetable prices is even higher than the increase in fruit, meat, poultry, eggs and milk, mainly affected by seasonal hot and rainy seasons. Even Hainan, the vegetable basket of the people of the whole country, has also transferred vegetables from outside the island. The main reason for the increase in vegetable prices is the impact of adverse climatic conditions such as high temperature, heavy rain, frequent typhoons, as well as insufficient agricultural facilities and high transportation costs. It is traditionally called the "lean period".

On August 16, Liu Tong, manager of the statistics department of Beijing Xinfadi Agricultural Products Wholesale Market, said in an interview with a reporter from China National Radio that "the end of July and the beginning of August" is the most concentrated period of rainfall in the north. In late July, the heavy rainfall belt moved northward to the northern region. The areas around Beijing and north of Beijing began to be disturbed by heavy rainfall. Northern Hebei also experienced repeated heavy rainfall weather. Whenever heavy rainfall occurs, it will affect the harvest of vegetables. At the same time, due to the concentrated and large amount of precipitation, water accumulated in the fields, and vegetables were flooded, which not only affected the growth of vegetables, but also affected the yield of vegetables. Among them, the impact on Chinese cabbage was more obvious. Some Chinese cabbages soaked in water lost their commodity attributes and could only be discarded, which also caused the price to rise rapidly. In addition, during the heavy rainfall, hail was also accompanied, and the dam lettuce was damaged by hail, resulting in the subsequent supply being in a tight state, and some supply was in short supply on the market.

Liu Tong said that small varieties of vegetables produced in Beijing and surrounding areas were also affected, and the vegetables in the fields were also flooded. In a high temperature and high humidity environment, fresh small varieties of vegetables were extremely easy to rot, and the stock of vegetables in the fields was large, so the proportion of vegetables that rotted was also large. The prices of small varieties of vegetables showed a relatively obvious seasonal increase in the summer.

It is expected that the overall price will continue to run at a high level for a period of time

Data released by the China Meteorological Administration show that in July, my country experienced both extreme heavy rainfall and extreme high temperatures. The national average temperature was 23.2°C, 1.1°C higher than the same period of previous years, the highest in the same period since 1961. The national average precipitation was 140.0 mm, 15% higher than the same period of previous years, the third highest in the same period since 1961 (148.0 mm in July 1996, 146.8 mm in July 1998). The Liaohe, Huaihe, Yellow River, Haihe, Yangtze River, and Songhua River basins all had more precipitation, with the Huaihe and Liaohe River basins having more than double the precipitation. In mid-July, the Huanghuai and other areas experienced a sharp turn from drought to flood. In addition, rainstorms were frequent, with a large north-south span, a wide impact range, and strong extremes. In July, Shandong (402.7 mm) and Jilin (291.8 mm) had the highest precipitation since 1961, while Henan (368.0 mm) and Liaoning (337.2 mm) had the second highest precipitation. The daily precipitation at 33 national meteorological stations broke historical records.

Liu Tong said that this summer, the high temperature and rainy weather will have a certain impact on vegetable production. Rainfall will still be relatively frequent in the short term, and it will take some time for the vegetables damaged in the early stage to recover. The prices of many vegetables will also rise and fall, and the overall price will continue to run at a high level for some time.

A white radish merchant in Xinfadi Market said that the white radish production area has been frequently flooded due to frequent rainfall recently. During the process of being soaked in water and insufficient sunlight, the growth rate of the white radish is slow, and the yield is affected. Once the rain stops and the sky clears, the growth rate of the white radish will immediately increase, the yield will increase significantly, and the price will fall quickly. The price of vegetables will fall, but the speed of decline will be slower.

The picture shows the green leafy vegetables that the farmers have just planted in the greenhouse (Photo provided by the interviewee and released by China National Radio)

In Ms. Shi's opinion, the rise in vegetable prices will not last too long. "The growth cycle of vegetables is usually two to three months. Green vegetables take one to two months, and the next crop of leafy vegetables will be up soon."

The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said that August and September are still in the "summer off-season" for vegetable supply, and the supply of some vegetable varieties is tight, and the overall vegetable prices are expected to continue to rise. At the same time, August will also enter the local autumn vegetable planting period. The continued decline in vegetable prices in the first half of this year may affect the enthusiasm for vegetable production. In addition, the prices of most autumn vegetables (concentrated on the market from October to December) will show a year-on-year decline for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023, and the probability of a three-year consecutive decline in historical fluctuations is low. It is expected that the prices of autumn vegetables this year will be higher than last year after they are listed.