Govt solves pepper crisis (2)

"Some plastic-made greenhouses collapsed and the roads that connect Yanqing to elsewhere were blocked because of the snow," she said, "I thought I would not make up the cost."

Hou said that peppers normally sell for 1.4 yuan per kilogram and now they have to sell them for 8 yuan ($1.3) just to cover the costs.

Another farmer, He Aizhong, in Daozhuang village said the bell peppers they grow are mainly exported overseas.

"They are not very popular in China since the price is a bit more expensive than the regular peppers," He said.

Yu Ping, the manager of the Fresh Produce and Processing Center of Beijing Chaoshifa Chain Store Co, Ltd, told the Global Times that they purchased over 15 tons of peppers Friday under the urging of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Commerce, and would buy more later.

"We did purchase peppers from Yanqing before, but not in this huge quantity," he said.

The price of the peppers was also reduced to 1.5 yuan instead of the previous 2 yuan per kilogram for quick sale. Yu noted that the pepper is a traditional vegetable produced in Yanqing and the quality is good.

The vegetable does not have a high demand in China, said Yu, as many Chinese do not know how to cook it.

"These peppers normally appear on Western food menus for it is good to eat with salad," he said.

Apart from the supermarkets and individual vegetable wholesalers, the logistics department of Yanqing township bought 2,500 kilograms for the staff canteen, the Beijing Daily reported Tuesday.

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