鋼鐵平過黃芽白

Chinese steel is now cheaper than cabbage

Steel is now cheaper than cabbage in China, as weak demand and over-production continues to undermine the end market for Australian iron ore and coking coal.

Despite a water content of more than 90 per cent, respected commodity price index publisher Platts revealed that cabbages were pricier by the tonne than the most popular type of steel, known as hot rolled coil steel, which is used to make industrial pipes and some vehicles.

In a note on steel prices this week, Platts noted that when measured by the ton, the wholesale price of white round cabbage in Shanghai was about 6 per cent more expensive than a tonne of hot rolled coil.

The comparison was even starker at retail level, with Platts noting that the average retail price of cabbage across 36 Chinese cities was 61 per cent more expensive that wholesale cabbages, making it more than 70 per cent more expensive than steel.

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(extracted from Sydney Morning Herald 9/7/2015)

在悉尼買黃芽白是逐個計算的，不用秤，自己挑最大最重手的來買，價錢因季節而異，到了現在算是最便宜的時候，4元有兩個，每個兩三公斤重(0.6公斤等如香港1斤)，又實淨又墜手，當然外莢不是青綠那種，青綠外莢不好吃，我會把外莢扔掉。貴的時候要7元一個，與當造時候相差3倍半。我不知澳洲黃芽白在香港賣多少錢，相信無可能比本地便宜。黃芽白貴過一卷卷的鋼筋(hot rolled coil steel)，聽落有點匪夷所思。不過，這是統計數據，我自然相信。

不是住在悉尼的人一定以為這裏農產畜牧富饒，便宜得使人羡慕，尤其是肉價驚人的香港，牛肉尤其昂貴。肉類毫無疑問這裏便宜，蔬菜就要看是哪一種了，唐人菜就頗昂貴。

澳幣滙率對物價影響很大，澳幣滙價由2001年3月兌換48美仙(即港幣3個8毫幾)，至2011年5月兌1.1美元(即港幣8個半)後，回落到7月8日的73.9美仙，住在這裏，只覺生活費不斷上升，澳元強不見得入口的東西便宜了，澳元弱就甚麽都在加價。上一段講肉類便宜，那是相對性的，最近6個月某些牛肉漲價百份之50，看下Sydney Morning Herald今天另一篇報導怎樣講：

Record cattle prices are threatening to push steak off the menu and take the sizzle out of beef sausages.

Some beef cuts have spiked by as much as 50 per cent in the past six months thanks to strong overseas buying – driven partly by the softening Australian dollar – and drought conditions.

不少分析員預期澳幣滙率會繼續下跌到70美仙或更低，因為大陸對鐵礦石(iron ore)及用以鍊鋼的焦煤(coking coal)需求減少，加上近期股市暴跌，使澳幣滙率雪上加霜，外滙收入減少，財赤就靠向小市民開刀來填補。農產品及肉類外銷增加可以彌補礦價下跌的損失，但小市民不是吃鐵礦過活，礦價下跌小市民不能撿便宜，農產品及肉價上漲卻直接影響生活，澳洲人生活在貧窮綫以下的人正在增加，貧富距離也越拉越闊了。