This summer has been unkind to one global powerhouse after extreme weather disrupted its crop-growing season and, consequently, its citizens' bank accounts.
What's happening?
China has endured chaotic weather this year, experiencing torrential downpours and weeks of historic heat waves.
The country has had 13.3% more rain than average, leading to a record-breaking 25 significant inundations halfway through the flood season. According to Reuters, flooding damaged 1.13 million hectares in the central province of Henan, one of China's key crop-producing regions.
The home of the world's second-largest population and economy also recorded its single hottest month in July since it began keeping track in 1961, hitting an average air temperature of nearly 74 degrees Fahrenheit, per the Guardian.
These conditions have taken their toll on the nation's agricultural sector, as Reuters cited data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs that showed that the wholesale prices of produce increased every day from June 25 to Aug. 21, aside from one outlier on July 19.
The average wholesale price for 28 vegetables from June 17 to Aug. 15 increased by nearly 40% from 4.29 yuan (60 cents) to 6 yuan per kilogram.
Meanwhile, China Central Television reported that Beijing's Xinfadi Market, the country's largest wholesale food market, sold vegetables at a weighted average price of 4 yuan per kilogram in August — a 25% markup compared to a year ago.
Why are the rising produce prices concerning?
Residents across the country have suffered as a result of skyrocketing costs of agricultural goods. Items such as cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, cucumbers, spinach, pears, eggplants, zucchinis, pears, and watermelons have all seen an uptick in price.
Reuters noted that Chinese netizens have expressed everything from confusion to frustration.
"I don't know what's going on this year, but vegetarian food is very expensive and ordinary people can hardly afford it," a user on Toutiao, a Chinese content platform, wrote.
"Who dares to go to the market now? I can't afford to buy vegetables. So I just don't buy or eat," another said.
What is China doing about rising produce prices?
To address the natural disasters that almost doubled China's financial losses in July from a year ago, the government allocated 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) to help banks support and rebuild communities destroyed by floods, which affected 6 million acres of farmland.
Reuters added that experts believe prices will stabilize in the coming months. While promising, it does nothing to change the fact that human-driven pollution has increased the severity and frequency of these extreme weather events that have caused fruit and vegetable costs to surge.
To that end, China has committed to cleaner forms of energy to reduce its generation of planet-warming gases. It is the global leader in renewables development and owns the world's largest turbine and solar plant. The country has also invested $850 million in new electric vehicle tech and is at the forefront of groundbreaking achievements in sustainable energy, like a safer nuclear power station.
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