Government "To Consult for Stabilizing Processed Food and Dining Out Prices"
'Ice cream 250 won, Spam 340g 2,950 won, Green chili peppers 500 won, Korean beef front leg 8,960 won'
This is a receipt from a supermarket shopping trip 23 years ago, posted on an online community. The receipt lists a total of 12 items including canned peaches, vegetables, Spam, tuna, green chili peppers, pickled radish, eggplant, and more, with a total amount of 27,720 won.
A, who posted the photo on the bulletin board, said, "I accidentally found a receipt from shopping 23 years ago. The receipt was tucked between books, so it was not exposed to air, which kept the print clear," adding, "I was surprised that all of this cost less than 30,000 won."
He stated, "This shows that prices in 2001 were at that level. Although the value of 30,000 won back then is different from now, one thing is certain: prices nowadays are going crazy."
Although it is difficult to simply compare the time when the receipt was issued to now, netizens who saw the receipt complained that the current price increases are too severe. The brand of tuna on the receipt is unknown, but Fresh Tuna was 950 won, whereas currently, Dongwon Tuna in a 135g size costs over 4,000 won.
Recently, the trend of rising prices has continued. According to the Statistics Korea Consumer Price Survey, last month the price increase rates for processed foods and dining out were 1.6% and 3.0%, respectively. In addition, the food and dining industries have been continuing price hikes this month.
Citizens are shopping at the processed food and snack section of a large supermarket in downtown Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
CJ CheilJedang and seaweed specialists such as Gwangcheon Gim, Daecheon Gim, and Seonggyeong Food raised seaweed prices by more than 10% this month, and earlier this month CJ CheilJedang and Sempio increased olive oil prices by over 30% each.
Also, according to the Korea Rural Economic Institute's '2023 Processed Food Consumer Attitude Survey Basic Analysis Report,' consumer satisfaction with processed food prices has been declining for four consecutive years. As a result, the purchase frequency of processed foods has generally lengthened due to price burdens. Last year, the purchase frequency for processed foods was once a week at 40.6%, followed by once every two weeks (26.7%), two to three times a week (23.9%), once a month (6.5%), less than once a month (1.2%), and daily (1.0%), in that order.
Regarding the rise in processed food and dining prices, the government stated it is making efforts to stabilize prices. On the 14th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a briefing, "Although the rate of increase in food and dining prices has somewhat slowed, these areas are fields where consumers feel the impact strongly," and requested, "We ask the industry to cooperate with the price stabilization trend to ease consumer burdens."
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