Taiwan farming communities hold giant cabbage competitions

Taipei, Jan. 19 (CNA) Several farming regions around Taiwan have recently held giant cabbage competitions, as the beloved crop enters its peak harvest season ahead of the Lunar New Year.

On Sunday, 32 cabbage growers took part in a competition in Penghu's Magong City hosted by the local government, which handed out NT$5,000 (US$152) and NT$2,000 awards, respectively, for the largest and "prettiest" cabbages.

Yeh Hsing-kuo (葉興國), a 51-year-old farmer from Penghu's Wukan Village, took home the largest cabbage prize for the fourth consecutive year with a cabbage weighing 19.1 catties (11.46 kilograms).

Because of the typhoons that hit Penghu last summer and fall, this winter's cabbage harvest was smaller and later than usual, though the quality of the cabbages is superior to last year, Yeh said.

Meanwhile, in a competition organized by the Chiayi County Farmers' Association on Friday, Budai Township farmer Chiu Shu-hsuan (邱書軒) won the top prize for a cabbage that tipped the scales at a whopping 33.91 catties (20.3 kg).

According to the Agriculture and Food Agency, Taiwanese cabbages from low-elevation regions (mainly Yunlin and Changhua) are typically harvested from October through May each year, while those from high-elevation growing areas, such as Yilan, Nantou and Taichung, are harvested over the summer.

As the current harvest has entered its peak season, the average price of cabbage has dropped from NT$54.2 per kg in early December to below NT$15 on Sunday, the agency's vegetable wholesale price tracking website showed.