Where to stock up on groceries during a typhoon? PX Mart keeps agricultural production and distribution stable to steady prices, while Leezen organic items are in high demand.

Super Typhoon Nepartak is bearing down menacingly, and the wallets of local mothers are also being hit hard. According to statistics, leafy vegetables and fruit and flower vegetables showed the largest price increases, with water spinach, bottle gourd, and loofah all rising by more than 30%. This time, in addition to planning to release frozen and imported vegetables after the wind disaster to stabilize prices, the Council of Agriculture (COA) Deputy Minister Chen Chi-chung and colleagues also visited the agricultural products marketing company today (the 7th) to understand the situation, and found that the marketing company has cooperated with a certain major retail channel operator, hoping to use this to stabilize vegetable prices.

Although the COA did not say externally which operator it was, it is understood to be PX Mart, which currently has a supply market share of 5% in the Taipei area, and cabbage is expected to be sold at 78 yuan per head, so that consumers will no longer be taken for a ride. PX Mart stated that cooperation had indeed been discussed, but preparations had already been made before the wind disaster, and the organic channel Leezen even sold out by 5 p.m. It is initially estimated that as long as the climate is calm within 3 weeks, vegetable prices will stabilize.

Before the typhoon, the agricultural products marketing company coordinated with a certain channel to supply cabbage at 78 yuan

According to statistics from the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation, today leafy vegetables averaged 30 yuan per kilogram, root and stem vegetables 42 yuan, and fruit and flower vegetables 42 yuan; compared with yesterday, they were 28, 41, and 36 yuan respectively, with increases ranging from 2 to 16%.

Looking at individual items, among leafy vegetables, Ceylon spinach, bok choy, water spinach (swamp cabbage), and mustard greens showed the largest increases, rising by more than 30 to 40%; among fruit and flower vegetables, tomatoes, bottle gourd, loofah, and pumpkins showed the largest increases, also exceeding 30%.

COA Deputy Minister Chen Chi-chung explained that in the past this kind of surge caused by an approaching typhoon was called "expectation psychology." From the perspective of farmers and the supply side, a typhoon can be expected to cause losses, so they rush to harvest first, leading to an increase in supply, while consumers believe prices will soar after the typhoon, so demand increases. Although generally speaking, when supply increases, prices should fall, because "expectation psychology" is strong, the final market price rises.

However, this time the Taipei fruit and vegetable marketing company tried cooperating with "a certain private channel," helping that operator purchase domestically produced cabbage, which is in highest market demand, and then sell it at a relatively affordable price that fits the operator's costs; currently one head of cabbage is being sold at 78 yuan.

Chen Chi-chung said that earlier today he inspected together with Agriculture and Food Agency Chief Secretary Weng Chen-hsin and Taipei City Government personnel, and believed that if this cooperation mechanism runs smoothly during this typhoon, in the future consideration could be given to using a government-share proposal to raise the current market share of 5% to 10%.

Although Chen Chi-chung did not "name names" from beginning to end, according to what he said, the channel operator with more than 170 stores in the Taipei area should be PX Mart. In other words, although the COA did not participate in it, it "indirectly suggested" that consumers go to "a certain private channel" to buy, so as not to become suckers.

In addition, in the future the COA does not rule out coordinating a "pricing mechanism" so that when prices leave the wholesale market, the increase will not be too high; however, how to calculate it and what increase range would be reasonable, Chen Chi-chung stressed, "must still be carefully evaluated, and explained only after preparation is complete and it can be put into operation."

After the wind disaster, it will not intervene in market prices, but will release frozen and imported vegetables

Stock was adjusted before the typhoon, and there was also "a certain degree" of government intervention, but Chen Chi-chung stressed that after the typhoon it would no longer have an effect, "I studied economics myself and am very clear about this," and moreover, after damage, agricultural product prices are high, which is relatively beneficial to farmers.

Therefore, after the wind disaster, the COA adjusts the market by releasing frozen vegetables and imported foreign agricultural products, and this time it is estimated that 220 metric tons of products will be supplied within 10 days. At the same time, according to estimates by the Agriculture and Food Agency, the current vegetable volume is still abundant, and it is estimated that as long as the climate is favorable within 3 weeks after the wind disaster, the lean period can be weathered.

PX Mart stocks up for promotions, organic channel sells out

A Newsmarket reporter called PX Mart to verify this matter, but initial understanding is that the relevant mechanism of the agricultural products marketing company still needs to be confirmed. However, before the wind disaster, PX Mart had already stocked up on major livelihood goods; currently large king oyster mushrooms are promoted at 75 yuan per Taiwan catty, large cucumbers at 25 yuan each, and traceable bok choy at 21 yuan per 250 grams.

As for Leezen, the largest channel operator for domestic organic agricultural products, at its Taipei flagship store the leafy vegetables had already been completely sold out by about 5 o'clock, and moreover, since Taipei has already announced that work and classes will be suspended tomorrow (the 8th) and it will not operate, people in need can only buy frozen vegetables, which must be thawed and blanched before eating; the varieties include broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, frozen spinach, etc., a 250-gram pack costing 99 yuan.