Sharp Rise in Agricultural Product Prices Due to Heavy Rain
Crop Flooding and Fruit Drop Damage Across the Country
Price Surge Caused by Decreased Production
Potential Negative Impact on Chuseok Market Prices
Heavy rains have caused flooding damage to farmland, causing fluctuations in the prices of agricultural and livestock products. This is due to a decrease in production caused by flooding and fruit drop damage. Even after the rainy season ends, agricultural product prices are expected to continue rising for some time due to the effects of heatwaves and typhoons, raising alarms over food prices.
Due to production disruptions of agricultural products caused by heavy rain, prices of vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, and cucumber have risen sharply. On the 20th, merchants were organizing vegetables at the Garak-dong Agricultural and Marine Products Market in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute on the 25th, as of 6 a.m. on the 23rd, 35,393 hectares of farmland nationwide were flooded due to recent heavy rains. This is equivalent to 122 times the area of Yeouido (290 hectares).
Among the crop damages, 35,036.8 hectares of crops were flooded, and 355.8 hectares suffered fruit drop damage.
The affected areas were mainly in Jeonbuk, Chungnam, Chungbuk, and Gyeongbuk, with 59.9 hectares of agricultural facilities damaged. This includes 38.1 hectares of vinyl greenhouses, 12.6 hectares of livestock barns, and 5.0 hectares of ginseng facilities. Farmland that was washed away or buried is estimated at 612.7 hectares.
As the production of agricultural and livestock products decreases, prices are soaring. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), as of the 24th, the wholesale price of red leaf lettuce (commercial grade) was 87,340 KRW for 4 kg, a staggering 352.4% increase from one month ago (19,305 KRW). Spinach (commercial grade, 4 kg) rose 225.8% to 59,980 KRW from 18,410 KRW a month earlier. The wholesale price of cucumbers was 42,650 KRW for 10 kg, up 142.0% from 17,625 KRW a month ago, and during the same period, the wholesale price of perilla leaves rose 107.8%, from 19,015 KRW to 39,520 KRW for 2 kg.
Fruit prices are also on the rise. The wholesale price of apples (10 kg) increased 17.1% to 78,240 KRW from 66,840 KRW a month ago, and the price of a watermelon rose 8.6% to 19,740 KRW from 18,175 KRW a month earlier.
Self-employed business owners who run fresh fruit juice specialty stores or restaurants that use a lot of vegetables, which are popular among consumers in summer, are deeply concerned about the soaring prices of agricultural products. Mr. Jang (55 years old), a self-employed business owner operating a cafe in downtown Jung-gu, Seoul, said, “Although the number of customers looking for fresh fruit juice increases in summer, the rising fruit prices are burdensome,” adding, “I am considering raising prices slightly next month.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has selected onions, lettuce, spinach, perilla leaves, and other items whose prices surged due to heavy rains as discounted agricultural and livestock products starting from the 20th. They plan to reduce consumer price burdens by offering discounts of about 20-30% with a limit of 10,000 KRW per person per week. Additionally, for facility vegetables whose prices are expected to rise due to flood damage, they plan to encourage shipments from unaffected areas and strengthen technical guidance to expand shipments of substitute consumable items.
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