Online and Offline Kimchi Sold Out
Surge in Packaged Kimchi Demand Due to Vegetable Price Hike
Food Industry Raises Prices Twice This Year
[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Ahead of the kimchi-making season, the price of napa cabbage continues to rise. Due to the soaring prices of kimchi-making vegetables and the increased demand for packaged kimchi, large supermarkets and online shopping malls are still experiencing kimchi sold-out situations.
As of the 1st, most napa cabbage kimchi products on Daesang Cheongjeongwon's online mall, Jeongwon e-Shop, are temporarily out of stock. Except for canned seasoned kimchi, stir-fried kimchi, and young radish kimchi, even children's kimchi products are difficult to purchase. On CJ CheilJedang's official online mall, The Market, 'Sliced Napa Cabbage Kimchi' and 'Yeosu Dolsan Mustard Leaf Kimchi' are also sold out. In large supermarkets, some kimchi brands continue to be difficult to purchase from the afternoon hours onward.
This phenomenon was triggered by the soaring prices of vegetables used to make kimchi. Since buying packaged kimchi has become cheaper than making it at home, preference for packaged kimchi has increased. The price of packaged kimchi, which already rose earlier this year, is expected to rise once more or has already increased, leading to a significant increase in purchase demand.
Daesang, the number one packaged kimchi company, raised the price of Jongga Jip kimchi by an average of 9.8% starting today. CJ CheilJedang raised the price of Bibigo kimchi by an average of 11% from the 15th of last month. Both CJ CheilJedang and Daesang had previously raised kimchi prices once in February and March this year, making this the second price increase. NongHyup decided to maintain the current price level for its kimchi brand 'Korea NongHyup Kimchi,' but many other large and small companies are also joining the wave of kimchi price hikes.
Accordingly, imports of relatively cheaper Chinese kimchi are showing signs of increase. According to the Korea Customs Service export-import trade statistics, the import value of Chinese kimchi from the beginning of this year until last month was $109.862 million, a 27.6% increase compared to $86.099 million during the same period last year. In particular, the import value of kimchi in August was $13.376 million, more than 41.1% higher than in August last year.
An industry official said, "Due to abnormal weather causing poor napa cabbage harvests and a sudden increase in demand, a temporary shortage of kimchi supply has occurred," adding, "We expect this situation to be resolved from the end of this month and prices to stabilize somewhat by the end of the year."
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