Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Launches Sale of Nonghal Gift Certificates
100,000 KRW Certificates Available for 70,000 KRW
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: "Sold Out Within 2-3 Days of Launch"
"I am happy to have finished this month's homework."
On the 1st, when the government-issued agricultural and livestock product discount (Nonghal) vouchers were released, office worker Shin (44) said this after purchasing the voucher. On that day, ZeroPay and Beeple App, which sold the vouchers, experienced a surge in demand causing temporary access congestion. From 3 PM that day, when voucher purchases became available, messages appeared indicating wait times approaching 122 minutes. Later, as the number of waiting users decreased, the wait time stabilized to within 5 minutes.
As high inflation continues, the Nonghal vouchers offering a '30% discount rate' are continuing their sell-out streak.
According to the distribution industry on the 2nd, Nonghal vouchers are online vouchers issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to alleviate consumer price burdens. The vouchers are sold at a 30% discount off the face value; for example, a 100,000 KRW voucher can be purchased for 70,000 KRW after the 30% discount. However, the maximum monthly purchase limit per person is capped at 100,000 KRW. Purchased Nonghal vouchers can be used at Nonghal voucher affiliated stores in the agricultural and livestock product wholesale and retail sectors, and the validity period is until June 30.
Originally, Nonghal vouchers were issued ahead of holidays such as Lunar New Year or Chuseok, but recently, due to the sharp rise in agricultural product prices and the resulting increase in perceived inflation, the government has issued additional vouchers to stabilize prices.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to issue a total of 60 billion KRW worth of Nonghal vouchers by the end of this month. The vouchers are sold in six rounds, with 10 billion KRW worth of vouchers released in each round. This sale is divided into three rounds for all users and three rounds for those born before 1959, to accommodate middle-aged and older adults who may be less familiar with smartphone use. For all users, the first round of sales was held on the 21st of last month, and the second and third rounds are scheduled for the 1st and 15th of this month, respectively.
The popularity of Nonghal vouchers is due to the recent sharp rise in food prices, especially agricultural products. According to Statistics Korea, agricultural product prices rose 20.5% year-on-year last month. In particular, fruit prices have increased significantly. In February, the fruit price inflation rate was 40.6%, which is 37.5 percentage points higher than the overall consumer price inflation rate of 3.1%. A Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs official stated, "During previous Nonghal voucher sales, all vouchers sold out within 2 to 3 days," adding, "The third round of sales, which started on the 1st, is also expected to sell out today or tomorrow."
The Nonghal vouchers currently on sale for all users will be available until the 7th. The Ministry plans to issue additional Nonghal vouchers at 2 PM on the 15th and sell them until the 21st. For middle-aged and older adults born before 1959, sales will be held at 2 PM on the 8th and 22nd.
On the 18th, fruits including pears are displayed at the Gyeongdong Market in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, where the wholesale price of pears exceeded 100,000 won for 15kg. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
The upward trend in agricultural product prices is expected to continue for the time being. For agricultural products such as apples and pears, which have seen significant price increases, there are no substitute products until this year's harvest, and imports are difficult.
Inflation rates are also expected to remain elevated for the time being. Last month, the consumer price inflation rate recorded 3.1%, marking a return to the 3% range. After reaching 3.8% in October last year, the inflation rate somewhat eased to 3.3% in November, 3.2% in December, and 2.8% in January this year, but rose again to 3.1% in February.
Meanwhile, since the 18th of last month, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has increased the discount rate for agricultural product discount support from 20% to 30%. Accordingly, major nationwide large supermarkets and Hanaro Mart are selling agricultural products at prices reflecting the Ministry's Nonghal coupons. The Ministry's discount support is funded by a 150 billion KRW emergency price stabilization fund announced by the government.
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