A villager cleans a chair in Huazhong village of Hekou town, Xiangtan county, central China’s Hunan province, July 31, 2024. Heavy rains have affected 1.15 million people in central China’s Hunan province, causing direct economic losses of about 6.13 billion yuan (about 859.75 million U.S. dollars). (Photo by Chen Sihan/Xinhua)
According to official figures, vegetable prices in China have risen significantly this summer. Analysts say the main reasons for the price increase are high temperatures and frequent rainfall.
The average wholesale price of 28 vegetables monitored by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs rose from 4.29 yuan (about 60 U.S. cents) to 6 yuan per kilogram from June 17 to August 15, an increase of 39.9 percent over the two-month period.
Analysts attribute the increase to weather-related factors, saying that these typically occur each year in the summer months.
Vegetable prices generally rise from mid-June and peak in early September before returning to a downward trend. The reason for this is mainly the high temperatures in summer, which proved unfavorable for vegetable growth and led to a relatively inadequate market supply, said Kong Fantao, deputy director of the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS).
This summer, China as a whole experienced above-average rainfall. Many regions, including Hunan, Shandong, Sichuan and Anhui provinces, were affected by heavy rains, thunderstorms and strong convective weather, leading to a decline in vegetable production.
In addition, the excessive rainfall has resulted in muddy or damaged roads in the vegetable fields, affecting the harvest, transportation and market availability of the vegetables. As a result, the supply of certain vegetables in the market is tight, leading to price hikes.
Looking ahead, analysts believe that while vegetable prices may continue their seasonal rise in the short term, the potential for further increases is limited.
Starting in early September, vegetable prices will fall due to seasonal factors. Due to the area of cultivation and the weather forecast, high vegetable prices cannot be maintained, said An Min, research fellow at the Agricultural Information Institute of the CAAS.
China’s consumer price index (CPI), a key indicator of inflation, rose 0.5 percent in July from the same period last year, slightly higher than the 0.2 percent increase in June, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.
NBS spokesman Liu Aihua commented at a press conference on Thursday, saying that food prices, which rose 1.2 percent month-on-month, contributed about 0.21 percentage points to the overall increase in the consumer price index.
Due to high temperatures and heavy rainfall in some regions, vegetable prices rose by 9.3 percent in July compared to the previous month.
Noting that seasonal factors such as high temperatures and frequent rainfall could further push up the prices of vegetables and other food items, Liu said the abundant supply of fruits and vegetables currently coming onto the market is expected to keep overall food prices stable.
The fluctuations in vegetable prices have prompted some cities to take action. Shanghai is currently actively importing vegetables from other provinces and cities to meet local demand, while making efforts to speed up the harvest and supply of locally grown vegetables.
