Drought fuels food price increases as yields shrink

China Daily, May 31, 2011

The impacts of China's worst drought in 50 years have been served up on the nation's dining tables as the price of rice and vegetables from drought-hit provinces have skyrocketed.

The average price of staple foods in 50 cities has increased significantly, and the price of some leaf vegetables has jumped 16 percent in one month, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Decreased production because of the drought has been cited as the major reason for price increases, and the prices of rice and vegetables may not drop soon, according to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Statistics from the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters show that an area of nearly 7 million hectares of arable land has been affected by the drought, with Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces most seriously affected.

"I didn't buy many leaf vegetables in the last week because the price is getting crazy," said Zhang Weirong, a 67-year-old Shanghai resident.

"Cabbage used to be as cheap as paper, and for 5 yuan (77 cents) you would get too many cabbages to carry home," she said.

She has had to switch to melons and pumpkins, which are getting cheaper this year.

She also changed from eating porridge for breakfast to noodles.

"My grandson said he doesn't like the dishes I cook these days, but what else can I do?" she said.

Shoppers at a supermarket in Shanghai's Huangpu district complained that the price of rice produced in Hubei increased 20 percent in one month to 2.6 yuan a kg. Lotus root produced in Hunan also climbed 20 percent during the same period to 4.2 yuan a kg.

In Wuhan, capital of drought-hit Hubei, the average price of 20 monitored vegetables climbed 7.3 percent in one month. The price of cabbage almost doubled in May to 2.22 yuan a kg, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The price of freshwater fish, crab and shrimp also witnessed a surge in the past week. Freshwater fish production in several provinces has reached bottom as lakes and rivers are drying up.

If food prices continue to soar during the summer, the increase may exceed 20 percent, which will push up inflation in the short term, Liu Ligang, an economist for the Greater China area with the ANZ Bank, said in his column for Financial Times.

On another note, Gao Wenqi, a researcher with the Shanghai Agricultural Technology Extension and Service Center, said the drought has provided better conditions for aphids to reproduce.

Aphids can produce a new generation in days with no rain, said Gao.

主站蜘蛛池模板: 大学生秘书胯下吞吐| 日韩乱码人妻无码中文字幕| 免费看h片的网站| 蜜芽忘忧草二区老狼果冻传媒| 国产精品一区二区久久| 97精品在线播放| 女人扒开双腿让男人捅| 劲爆欧美第1页婷婷| 韩国欧洲一级毛片免费| 国产欧美日韩精品丝袜高跟鞋| 88av视频在线观看| 夜夜揉揉日日人人| yellow视频免费看| 性欧美大战久久久久久久久| 久久一本精品久久精品66| 日韩在线高清视频| 亚洲av日韩av天堂影片精品| 欧美日韩在线成人| 亚洲狠狠婷婷综合久久蜜芽| 用劲好爽快点要喷了视频| 六月婷婷在线观看| 精品视频一区二区三区在线观看 | 久久精品国产亚洲av麻豆色欲| 欧美人与性动交α欧美精品图片| 亚洲男女性高爱潮网站| 用被子自w到高c方法| 免费人成在线观看网站品爱网 | 中文字幕一区日韩在线视频| 日本三级香港三级人妇99| 久久精品免费观看国产| 日韩成人在线免费视频| 九九久久精品国产AV片国产| 最近中文字幕高清字幕在线视频| 亚洲另类视频在线观看| 欧美日本高清视频在线观看| 亚洲欧洲自拍拍偷综合| 欧美野外多人交3| 亚洲欧美日韩国产精品久久| 永久在线毛片免费观看| 啪啪调教所29下拉式免费阅读| 亚洲精品你懂的|