Busan City Rolls Up Sleeves to Stabilize Prices During Lunar New Year Holiday

Meeting on Price Stabilization Measures Ahead of the Lunar New Year Holiday Held on the 3rd

Busan City Hall exterior view (Photo by Busan City)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Yoseop] On the afternoon of the 3rd, Busan City held a "Price Stabilization Countermeasure Meeting for the Lunar New Year Holiday" at the city hall small conference room, attended by about 30 people including city, district/county, and National Tax Service officials.

Earlier, Busan City selected agricultural, livestock, and fishery products, daily necessities, and personal service fees, including ceremonial items, as special management items. From the 3rd to the 23rd, a special price countermeasure period has been set, during which continuous monitoring of supply conditions and price trends of peak season items will be conducted to stabilize prices of holiday peak items and establish fair trade order.

To this end, the city and districts/counties will set up and operate a comprehensive price countermeasure situation room and form special teams to conduct joint guidance and inspections, including origin labeling. In addition, joint district/county teams will carry out on-site price inspections focusing on traditional markets and large marts, and will also promote campaigns for price stabilization and traditional market use.

In the case of agricultural products, some items (cabbage, radish) have rising prices due to poor crop yields, but most other items remain stable. Apples and pears maintain lower prices compared to the previous year due to quality deterioration caused by weather during the harvest season, but there are concerns about price increases ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

For fishery products, pollock prices are rising due to decreased stock from reduced offshore imports, and mackerel prices remain on the rise due to poor catches. The government plans to release stockpiled quantities intensively before the Lunar New Year holiday, and the city plans to induce price stabilization through shipment cooperation with the Fisheries Cooperative, wholesale markets, joint fish markets, and related organizations. Guidance and inspections will be strengthened regarding false or missing origin labeling.

Livestock products such as Korean beef and chicken have stable prices due to steady increases in breeding numbers, while pork prices are rising after a decline caused by African Swine Fever (ASF) but remain stable. Unless there are special reasons such as outbreaks of infectious diseases, prices are expected to remain stable due to increased shipment volumes in the future.

Distribution companies such as NongHyup are also conducting discount events focusing on holiday gift sets and ceremonial items ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, and districts/counties plan to promote various policies for price stabilization, such as traditional market discounts and opening direct transaction markets.

Choi Yeolsu, Busan City's Small Business Support Officer, said, "Although prices of some agricultural products have risen due to weather and seasonal demand, we will promote price stabilization by preparing supply plans for peak items in each sector," adding, "We will make every effort to stabilize the supply of peak items for the Lunar New Year holiday."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.