Taipei wholesale produce market closed for 6 days within 12 days! Fruits and vegetables left ripening on the plants pile up, volume surges and prices fall, farmers' hearts ache
This year's Spring Festival was only a short five days, but just three days after the holiday ended, starting from February 24, the Taipei fruit and vegetable auction market was closed for another three consecutive days. On the first auction day after the closure (February 27), the total number of incoming consignments reached more than 150,000 pieces, hitting a record high, and the total trading volume also surged to 2,108 metric tons! The flood of agricultural products caused auction prices to plummet, dealing a severe blow to production areas. This was especially true for crops harvested continuously; without storage facilities, they could only be left on the plants to age, creating the ironic alternative scene of "ripening on the plant."
What is even more worrying is yet to come, because once the Lantern Festival arrives, the Taipei fruit and vegetable auction market will again be closed for three consecutive days. This means that within the twelve days from February 24 to March 7, Taiwan's largest fruit and vegetable distribution hub will be closed for a total of six days. Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation General Manager Wu Yin-ning said that this year's closure days were decided at a meeting by the Taipei City Government last year. At the time, she delegated the manager of the business department to attend the meeting on behalf of the corporation and expressed opposition to consecutive market closures, but the meeting conclusion still decided on a three-day closure. However, she did not realize at the time that the situation would be so serious. Wu Yin-ning stressed: "What we can do now is try our best to promote and sell!"
Farmers' association staff said, "People can take holidays and rest, but crops grow every day. Once snap beans enter the harvest period, they must be picked every day. The people making these decisions do not understand, thinking one day makes no difference, but really, even just one day makes a huge difference!"
