China's major vegetable-producing hub, Shouguang in East China's Shandong Province, was hit by Typhoon Lekima in the last few days. Though some vegetable prices have seen an increase in Beijing, experts noted that the overall vegetable market will remain stable due to adequate stock supply.

The price of certain vegetables has risen in Beijing Xinfadi agricultural products wholesale market due to the flooding in Shouguang. Some vegetables from the disaster area, such as bitter gourds, loofah gourds and eggplants, have risen by about 30 percent, reported CCTV on Tuesday.

The average price of bitter gourds was 2.80 yuan per kilogram on Sunday, and 3.80 yuan on Tuesday, seeing a rise 35.7 percent, according to the Xinfadi market's official website on Tuesday.

The China Shouguang vegetable price index, a barometer of the country's vegetable market, stood at 94.27 on Tuesday, rising 4.09 percentage points from Monday. Among more than 30 vegetables surveyed, the index of 15 increased, 8 decreased and others remained flat.

A recent peak in the index was 127.87 on May 6. The closely-watched vegetable price index is issued daily by Shouguang.

Hong Tao, an expert on the agricultural market regulations of China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, told the Global Times it is normal for vegetable-growing to be affected by weather disasters, and there is supply flexibility in the sector. 

The overall supply of vegetables is exceeding demand in the domestic market, and the market will remain stable in the following months, Hong noted.

Increasing prices of fruit and vegetables have been one of the major forces driving up China's consumer price index in the first half of the year, however the rising prices were also caused by the development of cold chain processes and distributors choosing to supply certain products out of peak seasons, Hong said.

According to a report issued by the Xinfadi market, the weighted average price of vegetables in the market on Monday was 1.95 yuan per kilogram, up 5.41 percent from last week, but down 4.88 percent year-on-year. Although vegetable prices have risen this week as a whole, prices after the increase are still relatively low.

The latest data showed that about 18,000 greenhouses in Shouguang have been affected, accounting for 12 percent of the total number. Though significant, the number is much lower than last year's 106,000 greenhouses affected by flooding, according to Xinhua News Agency on Monday.