CJ CheilJedang Raises Average Price of Refrigerated Ham by 9.7%

Impact of Rising Raw Meat Prices Due to Prolonged ASF
Minimizing Price Increase and Raising Prices After Seollal to Ease Consumer Burden

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] CJ CheilJedang will raise the prices of 26 refrigerated ham, sausage, and bacon products by an average of 9.7% starting February 13. This is the first price increase for refrigerated ham since June 2014.

CJ CheilJedang explained, "Due to the prolonged global African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak, the price of imported raw meat has continued to rise, making an increase of over 20% unavoidable. However, considering consumer burden and inflation impact, we minimized the rate of increase and postponed the timing until after the Lunar New Year holiday."

The market prices of U.S. pork shoulder used in refrigerated ham and European pork belly, the main ingredient of bacon, have risen by 25% and 42% respectively compared to 2015. This is because China, the world's largest pork consumer, increased imports due to a sharp decline in pig farming, causing a domino effect that raised pork prices worldwide.

Meanwhile, CJ CheilJedang is continuously expanding domestic purchases to stabilize domestic pork prices, which have not rebounded due to weakened consumer sentiment caused by ASF. Last year, through a business agreement (MOU) with NongHyup, the company increased the purchase volume of domestic pork by about 20% compared to the previous year.

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