"Hard to Make a Living Even After Eating"… Gold Vegetables and Silver Fruits, Frightening Table Prices

Among 151 Food Items Tracked by Statistics Korea, 132 Increased... Average 12% Rise YoY
Cucumber, Pumpkin, Napa Cabbage Soar 70%... Essential Goods Directly Impact Low-Income Burden

On the 25th, as vegetable and fruit prices rise due to the heatwave and monsoon season, citizens are shopping at a large supermarket in downtown Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] It has been revealed that the prices of 9 out of 10 food items, excluding dining out, have risen by an average of more than 10% compared to a year ago. When dining out prices soar, people can at least minimize the frequency to reduce the burden, but food items other than dining out are difficult to cut back on consumption, directly leading to a burden on ordinary citizens. Due to high inflation, the lives of ordinary people are becoming harsher to the point where they worry about their immediate food and living expenses.

According to Statistics Korea on the 4th, there are a total of 151 food items (excluding dining out) officially tracked, including agricultural, livestock, fishery products, and processed foods, of which 87.4% (132 items) saw price increases in July compared to the same month last year. Prices of 17 items, mainly grains such as rice, beans, and glutinous rice, fell, and 2 items, such as baby food and red ginseng, showed no price change. ▶Related article page 5

The average price increase rate for the 151 food items reached 12.0%. Due to abnormal crop yields caused by heatwaves and monsoon seasons, vegetables rose by 25.9%, and fruits (7.4%), livestock products (6.5%), fishery products (3.5%), and processed foods (8.2%) all increased simultaneously. Grain prices alone fell by 11.9%, centered on rice, whose price plummeted due to production exceeding demand.

Vegetables have literally become 'gold (金) price.' Cucumbers and pumpkins rose by 73.0% each, and napa cabbage (72.7%), spinach (70.6%), young radish greens (63.5%), and lettuce (63.1%) all surged in price. Fruit prices also soared, including cherries (56.9%), oranges (29.3%), tangerines (21.2%), blueberries (21.0%), and avocados (19.1%).

The price increase trend for processed foods such as cooking oil (55.6%), flour (36.4%), and other processed meat products (20.3%) is also significant. Essential ingredients for cooking such as salt (27.9%), soy sauce (10.4%), doenjang (fermented soybean paste) (10.4%), sugar (18.4%), starch syrup (17.2%), and vinegar (14.8%) also rose in price. Biscuits, which are snacks for children, increased by 19.6%.

The surge in dining out prices is even more pronounced. In July, all 39 dining out items increased, with a total rise of 8.4%, marking the largest increase in 29 years and 9 months since October 1992 (8.8%).