Fixed Price, Private Contract, and Online: Expansion of Contactless Transactions to Attract High-Quality Agricultural Product Shipments
Key Factors for Strengthening Competitiveness Include Production Area Development Activities and Distribution Wo
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Busan City (Mayor Park Hyung-jun) announced that the transaction amount of fruits and vegetables at the Eomgung and Banyeo Public Agricultural Products Wholesale Markets increased by more than 5% compared to the previous year, recording a historic high of 1.0867 trillion KRW since their opening, achieving over 1 trillion KRW in transactions for three consecutive years.
Last year's market-specific performance was ▲ Eomgung Agricultural Products Wholesale Market 349,000 tons, 564.2 billion KRW ▲ Banyeo Agricultural Products Wholesale Market 247,000 tons, 522.5 billion KRW. This amount is more than six times the transaction amount of 174.7 billion KRW in 1994, the first year of the Busan public wholesale market's opening.
The city analyzed that this achievement was influenced by strengthening the competitiveness of the wholesale markets through expanding non-face-to-face transactions via fixed price and negotiated sales, as well as online channels, attracting shipments of excellent agricultural products, and enhancing the capabilities of distribution seed companies, despite difficult conditions such as COVID-19 and economic recession last year, along with the rise in shipment prices of some agricultural products.
The Eomgung and Banyeo Agricultural Products Wholesale Markets, opened in 1993 and 2000 respectively, supply more than 80% of citizens' demand for fruits and vegetables and contribute to stabilizing agricultural product prices, playing a key role in the distribution of agricultural products in the Busan area.
This year, the city plans to improve facilities and the environment to ensure no inconvenience for visitors to the wholesale markets, expand the attraction of excellent agricultural product shipments, and strive to stably supply healthy and safe agricultural products desired by citizens.
In response to changes in the new distribution environment, the city will continue to promote relocating and rebuilding the Eomgung Agricultural Products Wholesale Market as a southern regional hub wholesale market, and the Banyeo Agricultural Products Wholesale Market as a citizen-friendly future-oriented wholesale market where one-stop shopping is possible.
Kim Byung-gi, Director of the Marine Agriculture and Fisheries Bureau of the city, said, “Despite COVID-19 and difficult economic conditions, we have achieved transaction amounts exceeding 1 trillion KRW for three consecutive years and were evaluated as an A-grade excellent market in the nationwide public agricultural products wholesale market operation performance evaluation conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Busan’s agricultural products wholesale markets have established themselves as the center of the southern regional wholesale markets and as a robust wholesale market.” He added, “We will continue to do our best to create an environment where our citizens can purchase agricultural products safely and conveniently.”
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