Shinsegae Department Store Offers Discounts on 'Korean Seafood' Facing Export Barriers Due to COVID-19

Hairtail, Yellow Croaker, Abalone, Saejogae, etc.

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Shinsegae Department Store is gathering domestic seafood products such as hairtail, yellow croaker, abalone, and pen shell, which are facing difficulties in overseas exports, and selling them at special prices.

On the 4th, Shinsegae Department Store announced that it will launch a large-scale promotional event to support domestic fishermen who are struggling with sales due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Recently, as the spread of COVID-19 has frozen domestic and international consumer sentiment, demand for Korean seafood in major overseas export countries such as China has sharply declined, and export volumes are falling short of last year's levels due to disruptions in customs clearance and logistics procedures.

According to data released by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on the 27th of last month, the volume of domestic seafood exported overseas during the six weeks from January 1 to February 11 decreased by 13.8% compared to the same period last year. Abalone exports dropped by 20%, and hairtail and yellow croaker exports decreased by about 30%. This contrasts with a 3.5% increase in domestic agricultural products during the same period.

With reduced exports, prices at production sites are also declining. As imports by China, the largest trading partner, have sharply decreased, the price of Jeju hairtail has plummeted by about 25% compared to the previous year, and yellow croaker prices have fallen by more than 20% at production sites.

Domestic abalone and pen shell, classified as premium seafood and highly popular in Japan, have seen export volumes decrease due to ongoing tensions in Korea-Japan relations and the spread of COVID-19, causing production site prices to drop by up to 20%.

The domestic consumer sentiment index has also shown a declining trend similar to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in June 2015, further worsening seafood sales. In February, Shinsegae Department Store's seafood category sales shrank by 37.4% year-on-year. Especially from the last week of February, when confirmed cases surged, to March 1, the growth rate fell to -38.8%.

Shinsegae Department Store has planned and launched the 'Direct Promotion from Production Sites' event to help fishermen secure sales channels and encourage consumption amid falling seafood prices and declining domestic and international demand. From the 3rd to the 8th, this event will be held at seafood corners in all Shinsegae Department Store branches, offering excellent domestic seafood from Seogwipo and Seongsanpo in Jeju, and Wando in Jeollanam-do at reasonable prices with discounts of up to 30%.

Representative products include Jeju hairtail directly air-shipped on the same day, live abalone farmed in the clean area of Wando, and pre-cleaned pen shell from Namhae that can be easily prepared at home.

Choi Won-jun, head of food at Shinsegae Department Store, said, “We planned this event to alleviate the difficulties faced by domestic fishermen struggling due to the COVID-19 situation. We will spare no effort to support the expansion of sales channels for excellent domestic food products with strong competitiveness.”

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