Vegetable Prices Surge In Japan's Kyushu Region Due To Rain, Heat

Record rainfall in mid-August has triggered a surge in prices of leafy and summer vegetables including cucumbers and eggplants grown in southwest Japan's Kyushu region, Yuki Imano, Hiroshi Higa and Mayu Suenaga reported for Mainichi Japan.

Photo Insert: The heavy rains that fell for around a week caused poor yields and other problems.

Until around July, vegetable prices were lower than in a normal year, but supply dropped following the heavy rains that fell for around a week, which caused poor yields and other problems. It appears the prices of some products will remain high for the time being.

"The market supply is low, too. It's hard to get hold of products," a representative of a greengrocer in the city of Fukuoka's Minami Ward lamented on Sept. 1. Cucumbers that had until the start of August sold at the front of the shop for 78 yen (about $0.70) a pair were at one point fetching 298 yen (around $2.70) a pair.

Competition from nearby supermarkets meant the store resolved to sell the produce at a loss, but even so, now two cucumbers sell for 198 yen (about $1.80). Goya bitter gourds grown in Oita Prefecture are selling for 298 yen each.

A customer wore a concerned expression as she told the Mainichi Shimbun: "The number of items is lower than usual, too. If it stays expensive like this I'll be worried about household spending."

The lack of sunlight caused by torrential rains, affecting cultivation among Kyushu-grown products, has had a huge effect on the poor vegetable market supply. Stocks of eggplants, cucumbers, and tomatoes grown in Kumamoto, Saga, Oita, and Fukuoka prefectures are down to 50 to 70% of levels seen in a normal year.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' Kyushu Regional Agricultural Administration Office says it expects September wholesale prices of eight products including eggplants, tomatoes, and green peppers to surpass August ones.

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