Council of Agriculture submits Beinong market closure review report, acknowledges failure to identify risks early, proposes 6 future response measures
The Beinong market closure controversy is gradually coming to an end. The Council of Agriculture today (9th) released the "Special Review Report on the Taipei Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market's Three Consecutive Days of Closure" (full text please see attachment at the end) stating that wholesale market closure days are the responsibility of local governments, but the Council of Agriculture failed to identify risks early, coordinate with local governments to reduce the number of closure days, and coupled with rapid climate changes after the Lunar New Year, "failed to grasp meteorological forecast data and crop yield impact trends," resulting in inability to regulate in real time.
The Agriculture and Food Agency stated that in the future it will avoid three consecutive days of closure, closely monitor meteorological forecasts, and guide production areas to strengthen cold chain facilities, among 6 response measures, to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
The Agriculture and Food Agency reviewed and determined that in the future, except for the Lunar New Year, there will no longer be three consecutive days of closure.
Deputy Director-General of the Agriculture and Food Agency Su Mao-hsiang stated that those engaged in fruit and vegetable transportation and marketing also need rest, and farmer groups in production areas also agree that important festivals can have two days of market closure. Su stated, "Two days of closure versus three days of closure makes a big difference." One extra day of closure causes a significant impact on vegetables, especially flower and fruit vegetables which are continuously harvested vegetables, such as continuously harvested Meinong snap beans and flower cucumbers that need to be harvested every day.
Su stated that although market closure dates are the responsibility of local governments, the Agriculture and Food Agency failed to identify risks early and coordinate closure days. This three consecutive days of closure has been a lesson learned. From now on, except for the Lunar New Year, agricultural product wholesale markets should no longer have three consecutive days of closure.
Failure to grasp climate change risks in real time, will improve in the future
The Agriculture and Food Agency explained that another main cause of this market closure controversy was drastic weather changes after the Lunar New Year. Su Mao-hsiang stated that although Beinong has had consecutive market closures before, the climate conditions in January and February this year were abnormal, "low temperatures were very low, high temperatures were very high." The Agriculture and Food Agency this time failed to quickly grasp climate forecast data and crop yield impact trends, and could not immediately change and shorten the number of closure days, resulting in concentrated market supply and price fluctuations.
Su stated that with no more three consecutive days of closure in the future, "half the bomb has already been defused." In the future, in addition to reducing the risk of consecutive closures, climate information will be grasped more precisely. If there are anomalies, early response can be taken, such as activating cold chain system storage to help stabilize volume and prices.
Proposes six improvement measures
The Agriculture and Food Agency stated that the following six response measures will be adopted in the future to prevent the problem from recurring:
(1) Proactively coordinate with local governments to schedule market closure periods, avoid three consecutive days of closure, and notify farmer groups and farmers early to plan production schedules in advance and disperse supply.
(2) Closely grasp short- and medium-term meteorological forecast data and crop yield impact trend predictions, and rolling-adjust supply volumes across various transportation and marketing channels.
(3) Continue to guide farmer groups in establishing and strengthening pre-cooling, refrigeration, and packaging-related cold chain facilities to extend vegetable supply periods and improve supply quality.
(4) Guide farmer groups in contract farming, expand supply to diverse direct sales channels such as fresh supermarkets, mass merchandisers, military subsidiary food, and group meal catering, as alternatives to supplying wholesale markets.
(5) Expand export channels, increase sales channels, and reduce domestic vegetable oversupply pressure.
(6) In major vegetable production areas, guide farmer groups in establishing regional agricultural product processing centers. Through contract farming plans or expanded procurement during peak production periods, link with processing plants for cutting and freezing (refrigeration), to ease production and marketing pressure, stabilize supply sources, and regulate vegetable supply and demand.
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