Vegetable labels are dazzling: why do vegetable prices differ tenfold?

“Organic vegetables”, “premium vegetables”, “healthy vegetables”, “pollution-free vegetables”, “green vegetables”…… Nowadays, anyone buying vegetables is confronted with so many labels, and prices between different labels differ severalfold or even more than tenfold.

Consumers say, with so many vegetables, which kind is best to buy? Industry insiders say vegetable price and quality are not necessarily equivalent. The asymmetry of information between the two sides has, to some extent, created the current phenomenon of extreme prices in the vegetable market. And out of demands for safety and tastiness, different consumers have begun to seek out their own vegetable-buying channels, and a market for customized vegetables has already taken shape.

Buying customized vegetables is a matter of consumers' free choice. In the view of experts and industry insiders, cheap vegetables are still safe and reliable, and behind the polarization of vegetable market prices, what is urgently needed is the further improvement of the social credit system, “this is the profound reason behind the problem.”

Buying vegetables is “hard”

Buying vegetables is not hard; choosing vegetables is hard. During several days of visits to multiple supermarkets and meat-and-vegetable markets in Guangzhou, reporters found that vegetable stalls in meat-and-vegetable markets across Guangzhou are the first choice for most neighborhood residents when buying vegetables, and the main reason they are the first choice is: low prices.

Old Xu, the owner of a vegetable stall in a meat-and-vegetable market on Huifu West Road in Yuexiu District, told reporters that starting every day, many neighborhood residents come very early to buy vegetables, “if you only come at eight or nine in the morning, it may all be what others have picked over and left behind.”

Reporters found during visits that most vegetable stalls in meat-and-vegetable markets hidden in streets and alleys sell vegetables at prices that do not differ much, and for neighborhood residents, buying vegetables in a meat-and-vegetable market does not require much comparison, only doing the “math problem” well.

At several large supermarkets in Guangzhou, vegetables in the major supermarkets are likewise selling very well at present. In terms of packaging, supermarkets have relatively invested more; many leafy greens are selected and wrapped in cling film, and some are packaged on plastic trays.

The pricing of some vegetables is confusing, leaving people unable to choose. At present, many supermarkets sell vegetables of different grades, including “organic vegetables”, “premium vegetables”, “healthy vegetables”, “pollution-free vegetables”, “green vegetables” and so on, with some showing the vegetable's place of origin and some not. Among them, some vegetables also emphasize concepts such as “green cultivation” and “healthy cultivation”.

“With so many categories, and the price differences are so large, I really do not know how to choose. It seems as if all of them are healthy, so in the end I just choose the cheaper ones.” An auntie who was buying vegetables in a supermarket told reporters.

In fact, reporters observed that there are many consumers as puzzled as this auntie, and most people do not understand where the differences among these vegetable categories lie.

Vegetables are divided into four grades

In fact, public information from the competent authorities shows that at present China's vegetable certification levels are mainly divided into three: organic certification, green certification and pollution-free certification. Apart from these, all belong to ordinary vegetables. That is to say, the vegetable grades certified by the competent authorities are actually 4.

Among these, the “highest grade” is organic vegetables. The organic concept means adopting a completely natural production method: the ecological environment in which the vegetables are grown is not polluted, the production process does not use chemical substances such as pesticides, chemical fertilizers or production regulators, and genetic engineering technology is not used.

Text / Guangzhou Daily reporter Yi Chang

Intern He Zhirong

Photos / Guangzhou Daily reporter Su Junjie

“Simply put, organic vegetables are those with no pesticide residue, and the water source and soil also have quality guarantees.” Said Mr. Qiu, the person in charge of Huiyang Farm in Huadu District, Guangzhou, who has been engaged in organic vegetable cultivation for many years.

The second grade is green vegetables, which belong to one category of green food. The main requirement is to grow them in a pollution-free ecological environment while strictly controlling pesticide content. Zhu Wenxue said, “simply put, green vegetables will use pesticides, but there is strict control, with corresponding standards.”

The third grade is pollution-free vegetables. The definition of pollution-free is relatively looser, mainly limiting the pesticide content in vegetables and strictly controlling it within the range permitted by the state, “but pollution-free vegetables are still different from ordinary vegetables; they need certification by official institutions.”

Reporters found during visits to multiple large supermarkets in Guangzhou that at present not many supermarkets sell all three grades of vegetables at the same time. A salesperson at a supermarket in Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, told reporters that more citizens still choose low-priced vegetables, “we tried selling organic vegetables, but sales were not good, so later we stocked based on price.”

Prices differ by up to tenfold

Besides the above three kinds of vegetables certified by relevant state departments, vegetable labels on the market are diverse. On the one hand, these labels confuse people to some extent, but on the other hand, they also form a competitive market and promote the survival of the fittest in the vegetable market.

On a certain day in December, reporters visited a supermarket in Guangzhou. That day, lettuce was 2.98 yuan per jin and choy sum was 4.98 yuan per jin, basically similar to prices in surrounding vegetable markets. The highest prices were generally for organic vegetables; for example, one brand's organic baby bok choy sold for 27.6 yuan per jin, and organic choy sum sold for 21.5 yuan per jin.

Apart from the above three certified vegetables, whose prices decrease in order, vegetables with other labels show little regularity in pricing. One brand's choy sum under “soilless cultivation vegetables” cost 8.8 yuan per pack, with one pack about 350g, that is 12.5 yuan per jin, 2 times higher than the vegetable market price.

Some brands are even more expensive than organic vegetables. For example, the “Le×” brand's baby lettuce sold for 33.6 yuan per jin, about 10 times the price from the reporters' earlier visits, and its packaging did not have any relevant certification label.

Among these labels, most use keywords such as “healthy”, “harmless” and “zero pesticides”, with different pricing and different directions in their advertising slogans.

In the view of an industry insider who declined to be named, some merchants using labels at present are “playing edge-ball with certification, just making consumers feel that this seems to be the same as organic, green and pollution-free certified vegetables. Now information is asymmetric, consumers are in a fog and do not know how to choose, which actually disrupts this market.”

If it is cheap, is it unsafe?

Several people in the vegetable planting industry expressed concern about ordinary vegetables. In their view, ordinary vegetables are not as strict as organic vegetables or green vegetables, “the market has its rules; if something is selling well now, then fertilization will be increased in advance to make the vegetables grow faster, and then sell them all during the peak season.” One person said this.

Reporters learned that at present the agricultural competent departments in all districts of Guangzhou conduct irregular spot checks on ordinary vegetables, and in recent years no relatively major vegetable poisoning incidents have been found.

However, during on-site interviews, reporters found that some vegetable farmers frankly admitted that they would increase fertilization in response to peak-season demand, “this is a very normal thing.” As for spot checks, this vegetable farmer also said he rarely encountered them, “the probability of being selected is very small; sometimes when fertilizing, you also do not know whether there is residue, or how much residue there is.”

However, Chen Riyuan, a professor at South China Agricultural University and director of the Southern Vegetable Physiology Research Center, said in an interview with reporters that in fact, even ordinary vegetables that have not been certified are grown according to pollution-free standards, only the frequency of spot checks is not as high as for certified vegetables, “but now supervision at every stage is very strict, and I believe there is no problem; we have also not seen any food safety accidents involving vegetables occur.”

A farmer in Renhe Town, Baiyun District, told reporters that so-called “scattered” vegetable growers likewise have to undergo irregular spot checks by relevant departments, “if there is a problem, the penalties are not small either; no one would take this risk and act recklessly.”

Merchants have many concepts

Even if ordinary vegetables are safe, if a consumer wants to buy branded vegetables, in front of the numerous vegetable packages, they likewise face confusion.

“Apart from the three grades of organic vegetables, green vegetables and pollution-free vegetables, all the rest are in theory ordinary vegetables.” Chen Riyuan said that at present various domestic “healthy vegetables”, “original ecology vegetables”, “premium vegetables” and so on are actually concepts played up by merchants, purely commercial behavior. These vegetables have not been certified by relevant state departments or third parties, and in a sense, they are also advertising.

In Chen Riyuan's view, it is understandable for merchants to carry out commercial advertising, and some consumers worry about pesticide residue. Chen Riyuan said that pesticide residue is normal; if it is trace amounts, it will be metabolized by the human body and will not harm the human body. In terms of pesticide use, “first, highly toxic and banned pesticides cannot be used; second, after using conventional low-toxicity pesticides, vegetables must have an interval period and must meet standards.”

In the view of Zhao Pei, the relevant person in charge of the aforementioned Huiyang Farm, some consumer groups that need organic vegetables and green vegetables have already emerged, “for example, some users of organic vegetables are generally characterized as white-collar workers with relatively high incomes. These people have higher demands for their own lives and are willing to spend high prices to buy organic vegetables. Now there are more and more such people.”

Chen Riyuan believes that at present, on the sales side, clear management is indeed needed to guide consumers, but merchants' advertising behavior is not illegal either, and if consumers are willing to pay, there is no problem with that either.

Where is the expense of real “organic vegetables”?

First, land cultivation is expensive. “Organic farms first have very strict requirements for water sources and soil, and need a conversion period, usually 2 years. Only after 2 years can the vegetables planted be used as organic vegetables.” Zhu Wenxue said.

Second, labor costs are high, “the farm is staffed with about 300 people, and this cost is conservatively estimated at 1.2 million.” Zhu Wenxue said. Zhao Pei said, “our planting technology team has been engaged in organic planting for many years. Although sales are currently stable, we are still not profitable.”

Third, logistics costs are high. “Logistics costs account for 20% of total costs.” Zhu Wenxue said that his farm's turnover last year was about 120 million, with a profit of about 10%. Zhao Pei's farm has also developed a set of agricultural informatization management systems; after vegetables are picked, they are entered into the system and then delivered, “some subscribers live far away, or are scattered, so naturally costs rise.”