Taiwanese customs has seized a container of garlic weighing 8 tons kilograms on Thursday September 24, which was believed to have been smuggled out of Qingdao, China. The container was discovered at a port container distribution center, where was found to have been filled with buckwheat pillows, each stuffed with garlic. The shipment was subsequently impounded, according to the Keelung Customs.
Taiwan has seen garlic prices rise as well as surging demand for the plant ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival. To stabilize garlic prices, the Council of Agriculture (COA) has turned to Egypt, Spain, and Argentina, from which it has imported 110 tons of garlic this month, wrote CNA.
Garlic prices have skyrocketed to nearly NT$300 (US$10.25) per Taiwanese kilogram (600 grams)— a drastic increase from the average price range of NT$50 to 60 per Taiwanese kilogram, said COA.
