Wuhan Pneumonia 0319"Nationwide panic buying of supplies, yet leafy vegetables alone won't sell, trading price down to just 40% of last year's, farmers urge everyone to eat more vegetables
COVID-19 (commonly known as Wuhan pneumonia) continues to rage. After domestic confirmed cases surpassed 100 yesterday (the 18th), border controls were implemented starting in the early hours of today (the 19th). A wave of panic buying of supplies has begun across the country, with rice and processed canned goods being the hottest items, and sales of storable root vegetables also rising. Only short-term leafy vegetables are selling poorly, especially as demand from restaurants and retail channels has fallen sharply, auction trading prices have continued to decline, with the average price down to just 40% of the price in the same period last year.
Farmers report that the vegetable price slump has led to chaos on multiple fronts, including cabbage shipped to Kaohsiung dropping to 1.5 yuan per kilogram, and spinach sent to the auction market trading at "zero." In Yunlin, the largest leafy vegetable production area in the country, some farmers have even plowed vegetables directly into the fields with herbicide. Farmers urge everyone to eat more vegetables to strengthen their health and support farmers.
Council of Agriculture: Normal consumption is enough for supply, please do not panic buy
Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister Chen Chun-chi explained that the panic buying occurring across the country is due to public panic, causing the speed of buying to far exceed the speed of store restocking, which is why some supplies appear scarce. "If you maintain normal purchasing, there will be no shortage. The supply is absolutely sufficient."
Chen Chun-chi stated that rice is currently the most heavily panic-bought item. The Council of Agriculture currently has 905,000 metric tons of rice in stock, which is expected to supply 5 to 9 months without issue. After May, the first rice crop will be harvested one after another, and an estimated additional 900,000 metric tons of rice will be harvested. They will subsequently contact grain merchants and retail channel operators.
Regarding fishery products, Chen Chun-chi explained that the most heavily panic-bought fishery product is canned mackerel, but the mackerel raw material needed to make canned mackerel is in ample supply at fishing markets across the country. In the future, they will strengthen contact with food factories to enhance production capacity for supply.
Regarding meat products, Chen Chun-chi stated that there are currently more than 30,000 frozen pigs in the cold storage of the Council of Agriculture's animal industry division, which is within the safe stock range and can be supplied normally. "Border controls only restrict people, not goods. All goods and raw materials are moving in and out normally."
Retail channel sales soaring, distribution and restocking to be adjusted to maximum capacity
Tsai Tu-chang, General Manager of PX Mart Co., Ltd., the largest chain fresh supermarket in Taiwan, China, said that since 2 PM the day before yesterday, the number of people visiting stores across the country has been continuously increasing. Unlike typhoon days when people panic buy out of fear of price increases, this time the public's panic buying is mostly motivated by long-term preparedness, with most purchases being storable rice, root vegetables, canned goods, and dry goods.
"Food has a shelf life. Just buy as much as you need to eat." Tsai Tu-chang stated that PX Mart's mission is to meet the needs of every customer, but the current distribution and restocking speed cannot keep up with consumers. They will adjust logistics and delivery manpower as much as possible, and ask the public not to panic.
"Yesterday's sales were three times the usual. Regular weekday revenue directly surpassed holiday revenue. This is unprecedented." Carrefour public relations spokesperson Chang Chun-hung said that yesterday a large crowd poured into northern stores, and even by the time business hours ended at 11 PM, the number of people in line to check out was still long. Today, some administrative staff from the head office will be dispatched to support various stores.
Chang Chun-hung stated that in addition to physical stores, yesterday's online orders also set a new record, reaching over 14,000 orders. Purchases were concentrated on dry goods, heat-and-eat foods, and ready-to-eat items such as prepared meal packs. Panic buying of fresh produce was slightly slower, but sales of longer-storable items such as potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, napa cabbage, baby corn, and pineapples also increased rapidly.
