Lan Fang-hua, executive officer of the TFEDA, said the warm winter in 2006 caused a reduction in the supply of fish fry and a delayed delivery of the fry. This, in turn, undermined the aquaculture industry.

In addition, the Coast Guard Administration has been stepping up efforts to crack down on the smuggling of fishery products from mainland China after the Chinese New Year holidays in mid-February.

As a result, the prices of locally produced fishery products have shot up to four-year highs. The wholesale price for sea perch has risen to NT$70 per catty from only NT$30 seen a year earlier, while that of milkfish has also surged to NT$42 from NT$23 per catty.

The delivery price of grouper has soared to NT$190 to NT$200 per catty, and the prices of black porgy, emperor snapper, and blue-banded sea perch are now all over 50 percent higher than a year ago.

In related news, the average wholesale vegetable prices in Taipei have also soared by 20 to 30 percent as a result of lingering torrential rainfalls. Particularly, the price of cabbage has shot up at least 70 percent from a week earlier to reach NT$27 per kilogram.

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