Autumn vegetable planting area slightly increased in September, with the peak harvest season arriving in October

According to monitoring by the Ministry of Agriculture's vegetable production information network, vegetable supply in September was basically flat year-on-year and increased month-on-month, while farm-gate wholesale prices rose both year-on-year and month-on-month. In October, autumn vegetables will begin to hit the market in large volumes, and farm-gate wholesale prices for vegetables will edge down slightly, though the price level will remain higher than the previous year.

Vegetable supply in September was basically flat year-on-year and increased month-on-month. Vegetable output at the information monitoring points in 580 key vegetable counties reached 1.3 million tons, basically flat year-on-year and up 16.8% month-on-month. By region, the pattern was characterized by "one increase, two decreases and three unchanged." Output in the advantageous winter-spring vegetable zone of the tropical areas of south China and southwest China rose 9.2% year-on-year; output in the advantageous summer-autumn vegetable zone of the northern high latitudes and the advantageous summer-autumn vegetable zone of the Loess Plateau fell 5.8% and 5.6% respectively year-on-year; output in the advantageous winter-spring vegetable zone of the Yangtze River Basin, the advantageous protected vegetable zone of the Huang-Huai-Hai and Bohai Rim region, and the advantageous summer-autumn vegetable zone of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau was basically flat year-on-year. By category, among 20 types of vegetables, output of 4 types including carrots, garlic, chili peppers and cucumbers rose more than 3% year-on-year. Output of 10 types including Welsh onions, winter melon, celery, zucchini, Chinese cabbage, spinach, Chinese chives, tomatoes, kidney beans and radishes fell more than 3% year-on-year. Among them, owing to reasons such as lower planting returns in the previous year in some producing areas of Xinjiang, the Welsh onion planting area decreased, and output fell sharply, down 43.3%. Output of the remaining types was basically stable.

Farm-gate wholesale prices for vegetables in September rose both year-on-year and month-on-month. In September, the average farm-gate wholesale price of vegetables at the information monitoring points in 580 key vegetable counties was 3.02 yuan/kg, up 8.2% year-on-year and up 3.8% month-on-month. The average prices in the first, second and third ten-day periods were 2.98 yuan/kg, 3.06 yuan/kg and 3.02 yuan/kg respectively. By variety, farm-gate wholesale prices of 6 types of vegetables including green chili peppers, white-skinned garlic bulbs, purple-skinned garlic bulbs, hotbed chives, tomatoes and bell peppers rose more than 10% month-on-month, while prices of 2 types including cherry tomatoes and cucumbers fell more than 10% month-on-month, and prices of other varieties were basically stable.

Vegetable supply in October is expected to increase significantly, with prices edging down slightly. According to statistics, at the end of September, the area of vegetables in the field at the information monitoring points in 580 key vegetable counties was 1.42 million mu, slightly down year-on-year and basically flat month-on-month. Among them, the area in the field at the end of the month for 4 types of vegetables including cauliflower, cucumbers, Chinese chives and zucchini rose more than 3% year-on-year. Experts analyzed that in October, open-field autumn vegetables will enter the peak harvest season and come onto the market in large volumes, and farm-gate wholesale prices for vegetables will edge down slightly, but the overall price level will still be higher than the same period of the previous year.