Vegetables more expensive than meat? Not for long, economists say

The prices of vegetables being higher than meat is a short-term phenomenon, and Chinese people still enjoy a relatively affordable and abundant supply of vegetables, Economic Daily reported.

Recently, the news item "vegetables are more expensive than meat" has drawn wide attention. In some cases, the price of spinach is twice that of pork. Reports show the price of spinach even reached 35 yuan ($5.5) per kilogram, while the price of pork was less than 20 yuan per kg.

One of the reasons behind the higher prices of vegetables is the price of pork is in a cyclical downturn while supplies of vegetables are in shortage due to natural disasters that led to reduction in outputs and rising costs of transport.

In fact, though Chinese people are accustomed to relatively lower prices of vegetables, in many developed countries it is commonplace to see vegetables priced more expensive than meats.

Even in China, in recent years some types of vegetables were sold at higher prices than meats at certain times. Unlike bulk agricultural products such as grain, the prices of vegetables and other fresh farm products are highly market-oriented and prone to price fluctuations.

Compared with industrialized animal husbandry, the production of vegetables is highly susceptible to extreme weather events and seasonal factors. It is thus normal to see a surge in prices of vegetables in the short run.

It is expected high prices of some vegetables will provoke increased supplies. As the production cycles of vegetables are relatively short, outputs can rebound quickly, driving down prices.

It is also noteworthy that price fluctuations vary across different types of vegetables. Green leafy vegetables such as spinach have risen many times over, whereas more durable vegetables have barely seen prices increase at all.

In the past, people living in North China had few vegetables to eat in winter, and Chinese cabbage and carrots were more common ingredients in meals. Thanks to the development of agricultural greenhouses, people now have a greater variety of options for their dinner tables.

Chinese people still enjoy an abundant supply of vegetables, with total output of vegetables and the average per-capita amount consumed leading in the world.

Nevertheless, the country's vegetable production, which has a low rate of mechanization, is facing the pressure of rising costs of labor as more rural young people flock to cities and towns to seek higher pay. Coupled with a growing demand of customers for high-end and new products, the prices of vegetables have been on the rise in recent years.