Some Chinese farmers are leaving leafy vegetables to rot in fields as wholesale prices in the country tank
According to a report in the Straits Times Indonesia, wholesale prices for leafy vegetables have fallen nearly 90 per cent to Yn0.30 (US$0.50) per kg.
One factor contributing to this price collapse is consumer concern over radioactive fallout from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power reactor being more prevalent on produce with large leaves, the report speculated.
Prices have also been affected by a warm winter growing period causing an early harvest in the north that has led to a glut in the market as vegetables from that region compete with produce from the south.
Farmers are also receiving low returns for their vegetables because the price paid by consumers can sometimes be as much as ten times what farmers receive.
In the period from 11 April to 20 April farmers received just Yn0.20 per kg for cabbages, while consumers paid Yn1.79 per kg, according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.
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