Cabbage over-planting is leading to an explosive harvest and will cause market oversaturation and low prices, warns the Agriculture Ministry.
The ministry’s Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA) has been counting the sales of cabbage plant seedlings from nurseries since August of 2023. This is one method it uses to track and regulate the production of crops country-wide. The number of seedling purchases from September to December spiked, and despite the AFA’s continuous alerts to farmers’ groups, the rush to plant has not stopped.
The AFA estimates the consumer market price of cabbage will start to drop significantly this month, from roughly NT$200 per cabbage in November to approximately NT$50. AFA Deputy Director Yao Chih-wang (姚志旺) emphasized that they will continue to monitor market prices, pointing out that the public should take advantage and buy more cabbage as the Spring Festival approaches.