Storage-friendly cabbage affects domestic prices; the Agricultural Research Institute hopes it can replace imports
Farmers habitually plant cabbage in the winter crop, but because the production period is concentrated and production is excessive, among other reasons, prices decline. The Agricultural Research Institute therefore introduced storage-friendly cabbage varieties, which are easier to keep refrigerated and reduce the harm to farmers from severe price fluctuations, but it has been questioned whether this may endanger summer cabbage prices. The Agricultural Research Institute clarified that Taiwan, China needs imported cabbage in summer and autumn to supplement domestic demand, and that introducing storage-friendly varieties is intended to replace imported cabbage, not to replace early-autumn cabbage from high-elevation cold regions.
According to Council of Agriculture statistics, last year a total of more than 32,000 metric tons of cabbage was imported, mainly from Indonesia and Vietnam, concentrated from May to November, with the quantity reaching more than 27,000 tons, over 80% of the full year. Su Mao-hsiang, deputy director-general of the Agriculture and Food Agency, said in a video that Taiwan, China plants about 8,000 hectares of cabbage a year, with the main production period concentrated in winter at about 60%, and summer and autumn accounting for 40%. In summer it can only rely on production in high-elevation cold regions; flatland areas can produce only a small amount of heat-tolerant cabbage varieties, and are often affected by typhoons and heavy rain, so the supply cannot meet demand and imports are needed to make up the shortfall.
Outsiders believe that once storage-friendly cabbage is promoted, it will affect summer cabbage prices. Su Mao-hsiang said that because Taiwanese people like to cook cabbage by stir-frying, farmers mostly plant early-autumn varieties suitable for stir-frying, but early-autumn cabbage has high water content and is not easy to store or transport. The Agricultural Research Institute selected storage-friendly cabbage varieties that can regulate domestic cabbage supply and stabilise prices. Through vacuum precooling and low-temperature refrigeration technology, the supply period can be extended to summer, which can reduce dependence on imported cabbage.
Wang San-tai, director of the Fengshan Branch of the Agricultural Research Institute, explained that cabbage can roughly be divided into 3 price bands, and the ranking of price and taste is, in order: early-autumn, 228, and imported cabbage. The taste of the storage-friendly varieties introduced by the Agricultural Research Institute this time falls between 228 and imported cabbage; the main target of replacing with the introduced storage-friendly varieties is imported cabbage, "it will not replace summer early-autumn cabbage from high-elevation cold regions," but rather hopes to replace imported cabbage and provide a choice for affordable buffet operators or dumpling processing operators.
