With the approach of Chinese New Year and to inspect the supplies of daily necessities, Mayor Ko Wen-je visited the First Fruits and Vegetables Wholesale Market and Taipei Fish Market in Wanhua District at 5 AM on January 18.
The anticipated rise in demand for various produce before Chinese New Year convinced market management to step up preparations and inspections to ensure the flow and stable supply of goods. Strengthened pandemic prevention measures at these facilities is also important to safeguarding the health of citizens.
The market’s authority remarked that there is ample supply of fruits, vegetables, and fishery products for January 18, with the volume of vegetables reaching 1,856 metric tons and fetching an average price of NT$24.4 per kilogram. Approximately 657 metric tons of fruits arrived at the market today, sold for prices averaging NT$60.7 per kilogram. There is a higher demand for fresh produce such as carrot, kale, cabbage, broccoli, mustard, ponkan, orange, tangerine, sea pear, dates, wax apple, star fruit, and other imported fruits.
As for fishery products, a total of 71.3 metric tons arrived at the market with average price of around NT$123.8 per kilogram. However, there has been an increase in the price of fish used for traditional entrees such as white pomfret and yellow croaker due to reduced volumes. Those seeking more affordable replacements can try snubnose pompano, sea bass, or Taiwanese sea bream.
To ensure the safety of the agricultural produce sold at the market, the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation led the nation in the introduction of chemical analysis by spectrometer for random inspection of goods to identify and weed out ones with excessive pesticide residue. Working in coordination with the real name registration system implemented in July of 2020, merchants carrying unqualified products will be reported to the authority and placed on the list of dealers requiring guidance and improvement. Regarding the market’s pandemic prevention efforts, a new digital access control system has been implemented since July 20, 2021.
