Voluntary 2% Reduction in Production
Alternate-Day Operation of Laver Harvesting Boats
Goheung County in Jeollanam-do (Governor Gong Youngmin) announced that it is making every effort to devise self-rescue measures to stabilize supply and demand in response to the decline in raw laver prices.
Raw laver, which initially saw a price increase, experienced a drop in prices as favorable sea temperatures (8~10°C) promoted growth, expanding seaweed farms and resulting in a significant nationwide increase in production.
County Governor Gong Youngmin is encouraging fishermen who are struggling due to the drop in the price of seaweed. Provided by Goheung County
On the 31st of last month, Governor Gong Youngmin visited the Goheung County Fisheries Cooperative (President Lee Hongjae) auction houses (Guam Port, Balpo Port) to encourage fishermen struggling due to the price drop of raw laver.
On that day, laver produced in Goheung County was auctioned at a highest price of 86,900 KRW (119%) and a lowest price of 40,000 KRW (97%) per bale (120kg). Compared to the previous year, this represents a decrease from the highest price of 103,000 KRW and the lowest price of 38,900 KRW.
Governor Gong Youngmin stated, "We will do our best to stabilize the supply and demand of laver by continuously monitoring market conditions such as production volume and prices."
The Goheung Branch of the Korea Laver Producers Association (President Lee Hyungmo) is also making various efforts to stabilize prices, such as voluntarily reducing production by 20% and operating laver harvesting boats on alternate days.
On the 4th, a meeting of the Raw Laver Subcommittee of the Laver Industry Council was held at Goheung County Office, presided over by the Director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy Division of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The meeting was attended by officials from the Seaweed Research Institute of the National Institute of Fisheries Science, Korea Coast Guard, Fisheries Management Team, Goheung County Fisheries Cooperative, and Korea Laver Industry Association.
The meeting discussed joint crackdowns on illegal seaweed farming, identifying projects to stabilize supply and demand, and introducing pilot contract production projects. The Korea Laver Industry Association decided to voluntarily dismantle illegal facilities starting from the 10th to reduce raw laver production.
An official from the county said, "If natural reductions such as leaf loss occur due to strong wind advisories around the Lunar New Year holiday, production is expected to decrease and prices may rise somewhat. We will do our utmost to come up with practical measures such as joint crackdowns on illegal aquaculture facilities and support for raw laver disposal costs in cooperation with relevant agencies."
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