Vegetable prices continue to mount

Vegetable prices continued to rocket up in the first days of May, as production declined and rising fuel oil prices have led to higher transportation costs.

According to a government system that monitors the price of national agricultural and sideline products, the prices of Chinese cabbage, turnips, tomatoes on May 2 increased 96.6 percent, 75.7 percent and 49.2 percent year-on-year respectively. The prices were pulled up by a poor vegetable harvest due to colder-than-average spring temperatures, as well as severe damage caused by pests. Mounting fuel oil prices also contributed to the increase. According to experts, a 4 percent fuel prices increase will drive up vegetable prices 3 percent.