Citizens buy vegetables at a market in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province.Photo:Xinhua

Vegetable prices have been surging recently, with an array of farming products'  prices rising by more than 20 percent, and some products' prices  are even doubling. 

The steep price hike is mainly caused by the excessive rainfall in many parts of China from July to October, and the elevated veg prices could remain at a high level until the Chinese Spring Festival, an industry expert claimed on Saturday. 

The average price of green Chinese onion was put at 3.25 yuan per 500 grams on Saturday, up 25 percent in three days, according to data from the Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing. 

Per data from China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Friday, the average price of 28 kinds of stable vegetables reached 5.68 yuan per kilogram, up 2.7 percent from Thursday, with cabbage, green pepper, bean, green onion and eggplant topping the list of price rises.

The Shouguang vegetable price index showed that the daily fixed base price index of vegetables on Friday rose to 140.43 points, up 41.72 percent year-on-year and 44.92 percent month-on-month. 

"The price surge of vegetables this year is clearly faster than those in previous years, even though it is normal for the prices to increase in winter seasons," a Beijing resident surnamed Zhao told the Global Times on Saturday. 

Nearly all leaf vegetables have experienced marked price hikes over recent days, except for tofu, radish and a small minority of other varieties, Zhao said.

The recent price elevation of vegetables is mainly caused by the excessive rainfall in many places throughout China, Li Guoxiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Saturday.

Both the growth and storage of vegetables has been impacted by heavy rain, Li said. And, the persistent veg price hikes may add pressure on inflation. 

The price hike is unlikely to be permanent, since production cycle of vegetables are relatively short, Li said, adding that the prices, however, may remain at a high level as the winter approaches, and the prices may go down after the Spring Festival.

Global Times