Lately, "Prices for bamboo have been dropping and fruit is becoming harder to sell because of imports. Farming in the mountains, you can't use machines because of the slope. That means most work is done by hand, which raises costs," says Tu. He says that Chiungchiao Keng is facing economic difficulties.
如今「竹子的價錢越來越便宜，水果受到進口產品的影響，也越來越不好銷；在山裡耕作，因為地勢高，不能用機器，大多要靠人力，更使成本高漲」，涂明海指出芎蕉坑面臨的經濟困境，再加上無法預防的天災、意外，隨時都可能讓農民長年的辛勞毀於一旦。