Peanut prices plummet after speculation, COA to buy at guaranteed price of NT$67, urges farmers not to sell off
A single rumor sent domestic peanut prices plunging! A document circulating online showing the winning bids for next year's (2020) peanut tariff quota "rights fees" was played up by certain people as the "import price of peanuts." Many traders used it as an excuse to lower their buying prices, causing farm-gate peanut prices to drop sharply. In early November the "farm-gate negotiated price" was about NT$78 per kg, but by mid-November it had fallen to NT$60 per kg. As for the "national market auction price," today (the 22nd) it also fell to NT$43 per kg, leaving peanut farmers lamenting their plight.
Chen Chi-chung, chairman of the Council of Agriculture (COA), has personally stepped up to the front line for days to battle the "peanut chaos," announcing that the government will buy at NT$40 per Taiwan catty (NT$67 per kg) and will match farmers with processing plants to launch purchasing, storage and processing measures, hoping to stabilize farm-gate peanut prices as soon as possible. Those currently helping with the purchases include the Huwei Farmers' Association, the Beigang Farmers' Association and the Yuanchang Farmers' Association. Farmers in other production areas can contact units across regions such as the Citong Cooperative Farm, the Dongshi Coarse Grains Production Cooperative and the Zimao Production Cooperative. Chen Chi-chung urged farmers not to panic and not to sell at a loss.
Fact check: The "NT$31 to NT$38" on the circulated bid document refers to the tender price of the "import rights fee," to which the "import arrival price" must still be added; the actual cost of imported peanuts comes to NT$65-81 per kg.
Yunlin County Magistrate Chang Li-shan shows the "bid document," rumors spread and hit peanut prices
The second crop of peanuts in Taiwan has entered its harvest period since November. This year's second-crop area is initially estimated at 12,020 hectares. Some of the early-planted fields were affected by the 812 heavy rains, and overall output fell by 18% (estimated output 31,534 metric tons). Lower output means higher prices, and peanut prices since November this year have risen by 20 to 40 percent compared with the same period last year.
However, many farmers have recently reported that peanut prices have been falling steadily this week, suddenly sliding from the national average price of NT$87.1 (per kg) on the 18th, and they point the finger at a piece of "import news." It is understood that last week, when Yunlin County Magistrate Chang Li-shan was taking questions at the county council, she publicly displayed a bid document and accused the COA of still opening up peanut imports in November, hurting the domestic industry. That bid document was then misrepresented as an "import document," and rumors spread online. Many traders, upon receiving the news, developed expectations and deliberately lowered their buying prices or even refused to enter the market, damaging peanut buying sentiment and pushing prices down, leaving peanut farmers lamenting their plight.
