VEGETABLE prices have soared in China in recent weeks, costing more than meat in some cases, and creating another headache for consumers already hit by power shortages.

Wholesale vegetable prices surged 28 percent in the four weeks through Oct. 22, and is now at the highest level since February, the latest data from the Ministry of Commerce show.

Heavy rainfall in major growing regions this year damaged crops and soaring coal prices has also made greenhouse farming more expensive.

Cauliflower and broccoli costs about 50 percent more. At Beijing’s Xinfadi market, a half-kilogram bag of lettuce or water spinach cost as much as 8 yuan (US$1.25) Wednesday. The same quantity of pork cost about 8 to 10.5 yuan, and chicken was 7 to 10 yuan.

The rally is so strong that China’s agriculture ministry last week pledged to crack down on vegetable hoarding and to ensure stable supply. Many consumers also complained on social media, saying they were shocked by the prices and couldn’t afford to eat vegetables anymore.

Economists expect the boost to inflation to be temporary though, with prices likely to remain high for a few months until demand eases during the Lunar New Year in February.

GF Securities Co. estimate a 0.5 percentage-point boost to consumer prices in October from the previous month, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. expects the same increase in the year-on-year rate.

“We expect CPI [consumer price index] to move up towards 2 percent in the next few months, mainly due to base effects but also modest sequential pickup in inflation momentum,” said Zhu Haibin, chief China economist at JPMorgan in Hong Kong.

Falling pork prices from last year and weak household demand have kept consumer inflation subdued this year despite skyrocketing factory-gate prices. Consumer-price growth slowed to 0.7 percent in October, with JPMorgan predicting 0.9 percent for the full year, well below the government’s official target of 3 percent. Economists surveyed project a 1.1 percent rise in 2021 and 2.2 percent in 2022.

(SD-Agencies)