ID :
301358
Tue, 10/01/2013 - 14:34
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Vegetarian festival approaches, vegetable prices soar

BANGKOK, October 1 (TNA) - The prices of vegetables are soaring in Thailand due to flooding, as the Vegetarian Festival is approaching, leading to more imports of vegetables, especially from China. Vendors said on Tuesday that vegetable prices have increased due to heavy downpours and floods, which have damaged vegetable gardens in some areas. The prices of some vegetables have risen at fresh markets in, for instance, the Khon Kaen Municipality, where they are vegetables usually cooked for vegetarians. Surachat Jongjit, chief of food and drug checkpoints in Chiang Khong and Chiang Saen Districts of Chiang Rai Province in the Thai North, told journalists that, from September 20, imports of fresh vegetables through Chiang Khong have amounted to 250 tons daily, some 30 per cent increase from other periods, to serve domestic demand, as many Thai areas have been flooded and the Vegetarian Festival is approaching. Surachat acknowledged most imported vegetables are for vegetarian food, including cabbage, broccoli, lotus root and sugar snap pea. In Songkhla Province in the Thai South, meat and egg vendors are reducing their supplies, as the Vegetarian Festival will begin late this week. Meanwhile, Songkhla's public and private sectors have prepared for the upcoming Vegetarian Festival, with ASEAN food to be one of its highlights this year. The Vegetarian Festival in Songkhla will be held at Supasarn Rangsan Park in front of Mittraparb Samakkee (Tong Sia Siang Teung) Foundation in Hat Yai, under the theme of “Delicious, Hygienic and Alcohol-free”, from October 4-13, during which visitors will be served with a variety of vegetarian dishes provided at a total of 108 booths. There will also be selected vegan food shops from other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as ASEAN vegetarian cooking demonstrations, cultural performances, namely the famous Golden Dragon and Lion Dance shows from Nakhon Sawan Province in the Lower Thai North. According to the president of Hat Yai's hotel association, Somchart Pimthanapoonporn, over 15,000 hotel rooms in Hat Yai, wellknown as Thailand' southern business hub, have been almost fully booked by international visitors, especially from Malaysia and Singapore. Somchart assessed that the amount of cashes circulating during this year's 10-day Vegetarian Festival in Hat Yai should be at least 100 million Baht. (TNA)

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