Guangzhou vegetable prices hit record high
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-06-24 11:25
Never before has the price of vegetables been so high in Guangzhou.
According to the Guangzhou Shopping Basket Pricing Centre, choy sum, or
flowering Chinese cabbage, a popular vegetable in South China, is selling for 12
yuan (US$1.48) per kilogram compared to its price of about 3.5 yuan (43 US
cents) in early May. The price of romaine lettuce is currently 6 yuan (74 US
cents) per kilogram compared to about 3 yuan (37 US cents) early in May.
The average price of vegetables currently stands at 6 yuan (74 US cents) per
kilogram in Guangzhou, while it was 3.48 yuan (43 US cents) in early May.
Sun Guoxiang, director of the centre, said that vegetable prices at the
moment are even higher than they were 12 years ago when Guangdong Province was
suffering from a serious drought.
He said that the highest price recorded for choy sum in Guangzhou was 11.6
yuan (US$1.43) per kilogram in 1994.
Sun said that the heavy rain in May and in the first half of this month is to
blame. "The heavy rain flooded many vegetable fields in Guangzhou and in other
regions of Guangdong Province, ending in a serious shortage of supply," he said.
"The (average) vegetable price is inching down as a whole in Guangzhou," he
said. "But it will take another 20 to 30 days for the price to come back to
normal again."
The high price of vegetables has had an impact on the daily lives of many
Guangzhou citizens.
"The price is so high that many people have reduced their vegetable
purchases," said Mo Hangjing, a middle-aged vegetable seller at a grocery market
in the city's Tianhe District. "I don't earn as much as usual these days."
For Mai Jieying, a restaurant owner in the district, the rise in the price of
vegetables is eating into her profit.
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