Hong Kong Imported Vegetable Wholesale Merchants Association chairman Yuen Cheong said 90 percent of vegetables sold in Hong Kong are from the mainland.

Delayed logistics amid the Covid-19 pandemic and persistent thunderstorms in the mainland have affected transportation and the harvest of vegetables, he said.

Prices for Chinese kale have risen to HK$9 per catty from the usual level of HK$5 per catty. Lettuce prices have tripled to HK$18 per catty.

Yuen expected the surge in prices will not go down until the middle of next month, but it may last until the New Year if the mainland is hit by cold waves or more thunderstorms.