Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Co. (TAPMC) said that the average vegetable wholesale price yesterday rose to the year’s new high of NT$40.37 per kilogram, despite an increase in vegetable supplies.

The company had said last week that agricultural damages brought about by Sepat will affect vegetable prices until the Mid-Autumn Festival in September.

Worshipers making food sacrifices yesterday ahead of the Ghost Festival said that the cost of purchasing food this year has increased by a few times from past years.

TAPMC said that the green onion remained the most expensive vegetable yesterday at a wholesale price of NT$250 per kilogram for the premier variety.

Other vegetables that have risen over NT$100 per kilogram include bamboo shoots at NT$180, sponge cucumbers, leeks and garlic.

The company said that customers who feel deterred by the current prices of vegetables can opt for less expensive varieties such as bean sprouts, which currently sell at a wholesale price of NT$12 to NT$15 per kilogram.

TAPMC further urged customers to shop for rootstalk vegetables as opposed to leafy vegetables, which have seen the sharpest price increases.

Less expensive rootstalk vegetables include radish, carrots and corn.

Statistics released by the Council of Agriculture last Tuesday suggested agricultural losses across Taiwan brought about by typhoons Pabuk, Wutip and Sepat exceeded NT$1.5 billion.

That amount includes more than NT$1.24 billion in damage to crops on 23,811 hectares, or 27 percent, of the country’s farmland and the complete loss of crops on 6,377 hectares.

The hardest-hit crops included pomelos, bananas, watermelons, muskmelons, pineapples, guavas, pears, papayas, custard apples and leafy vegetables.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has encouraged people to report any illegal hoarding and raising of vegetable prices by retailers by calling (02) 2351-7567 or by e-mailing the FTC via its website www.ftc.gov.tw.

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