Government Pressures 'Gridflation'... Lowers Flour Prices and Discounts Fruits

CJ CheilJedang B2C Flour Up to 10% Discount
Major Fruit Sale Events on Coupang, Gmarket, and More

The government is making an all-out effort to curb the soaring grocery prices, prompting retail companies such as Coupang and CJ CheilJedang to launch a series of discount events and price reductions.

According to the industry on the 19th, major flour manufacturers including CJ CheilJedang, Samyang Corporation, and Daehan Flour Mills are lowering the prices of consumer flour products. This move reflects both their participation in the government's price stabilization policy and a slight drop in the price of imported wheat, the raw material for flour production.

On the 19th, amid concerns over soaring flour prices due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and India's ban on wheat exports, citizens are shopping at a large supermarket in downtown Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

Industry Leader CJ CheilJedang Takes Preemptive Step to Lower Flour Prices

The first to announce a price reduction plan was CJ CheilJedang, the market leader. CJ CheilJedang will reduce the prices of consumer flour products starting from the 1st of next month. The products with price cuts include three types: 1kg and 2.5kg all-purpose flour, and 3kg pancake flour. The reduction rate ranges from 3.2% to 10% based on regular prices at large supermarkets, with an average reduction rate of 6.6%.

A CJ CheilJedang representative stated, "We decided to lower prices to reflect recent international wheat market prices and actively participate in the government's price stabilization policy," adding, "We hope this will contribute even slightly to stabilizing grocery prices."

Pancake flour and all-purpose flour are products commonly used in households, accounting for more than half of the total B2C (business-to-consumer) sales volume.

Following the price reduction policy of the industry leader, competitors are also joining in. Samyang Corporation and Daehan Flour Mills are already discussing whether to reduce prices on consumer flour products. An industry insider said, "We are reviewing the specific timing of the announcement and the reduction rates."

Retailers are holding consecutive discount events on fruits such as apples, which are major contributors to the rise in grocery prices. Consumer prices rose 3.1% year-on-year last month, with agricultural product prices?directly and indirectly affecting perceived inflation?accounting for more than 80% of the overall price increase in February.

Coupang, Gmarket, and Other E-commerce Platforms Hold Fruit Discount Events

First, Coupang is holding a "Seasonal Fruit Chance" event, offering discounts on seven types of fruits including tomatoes, apples, and strawberries through Rocket Fresh. For this week-long event starting on the 18th, Coupang purchased an additional 900 tons of fruits such as tomatoes, apples, oriental melons, oranges, and citrus fruits. Coupang has been investing its own budget to discount fruit prices and provide benefits to Wow members. From the 12th to the 17th, about 450 tons of fruits including strawberries, oranges, and oriental melons were purchased and sold at the lowest prices. All event products were sold out.

Coupang is preparing twice the quantity compared to last week for an encore discount event, responding to the support from Wow members for the recently ended fruit discount event. Coupang Wow members can purchase popular fruit products such as tomatoes and apples at more reasonable prices. This week's event offers additional discount coupons on top of the discounted prices: ▲800 KRW off strawberries, ▲1,500 KRW off tomatoes, and ▲2,000 KRW off imperfect apples and oriental melons.

Representative products of the event, based on prices after applying discount coupons, include ▲imperfect apples 1.5kg for 9,980 KRW, ▲Seongju sugar-selected oriental melon 1.2kg for 11,900 KRW, ▲ripe tomatoes 1kg for 6,660 KRW, and ▲a tray of large strawberries for 6,590 KRW. Additionally, high-sugar oranges, Chilean green grapes, Hallabong, and Cheonhyehyang are available through Rocket Fresh, all inspected for uniform quality.

Gmarket and Auction are also running a "Fruit Price" campaign until the 24th, offering discounts on seasonal fruits directly shipped from farms and popular imported fruits. Discounted items include imported fruits such as ▲oranges, ▲mangoes, and ▲blueberries, as well as domestic seasonal fruits like ▲Jeju Hallabong, ▲Busan Daejeo tomatoes, ▲Seongju oriental melons, and ▲Nonsan strawberries. A 20% discount coupon applicable to fruit purchases is provided first. For purchases over 10,000 KRW, discounts up to 20,000 KRW are available, and the coupon can be downloaded up to five times daily on each site.

Emart sold spring strawberries and fresh oriental melons at low prices from the 8th to the 14th and, together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, sold apples and pears at affordable prices through the "Agricultural Product Discount Coupon" (Nonghal). Furthermore, seasonal fresh foods will be sold at up to 50% off until the 21st.

This series of moves by the retail industry is a result of government pressure as it launches an all-out campaign to curb grocery price inflation. Earlier on the 13th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs urged food industry officials at a meeting to "flexibly reflect changes in international raw material prices in product prices and cooperate in stabilizing prices." President Yoon Suk-yeol also requested, "All ministries should be vigilant and make every effort to stabilize people's livelihoods by achieving early stabilization of inflation at around 2%."