Emart and Lotte Mart Join 'Korea Farm Discount' Campaign: "Supporting Farmers"

Cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Domestic Demand Activation
From July 30 to August 5

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Major supermarket chains are conducting large-scale agricultural product discount events in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to support domestic farms and revitalize domestic consumption. This is because farmers are facing difficulties due to a 21% drop in nationwide restaurant sales from February to April this year compared to the previous year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, along with reduced demand for school meals.

Emart and Lotte Mart Start Simultaneously from the 30th

Emart will hold a discount event for one week from the 30th of this month to the 5th of next month. During the event, customers purchasing eight types of Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs event products at Emart can receive an additional 20% discount at the event price, but only for Shinsegae Points members. Customers can get up to a 10,000 KRW discount on purchases of 50,000 KRW per person, and with the additional 20% discount applied on Emart’s own discounted prices, purchases can be made at up to 55% off.

Domestic Shine Muscat, famous as a premium fruit, will have a separate event where a 10,000 KRW Shinsegae gift certificate is given along with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ 20% discount event. Ultimately, it can be purchased at about 53% cheaper. Approximately 100 tons (t) have been prepared, and early sell-out is possible. Eight items including mountain watermelons grown at altitudes above 300m with hard skins and high sugar content, native Uiseong garlic, Gangwon sticky tomatoes, and Gangwon paprika will be sold at an additional 20% discount off the event price.

This agricultural product discount event is part of the government’s eight-sector consumer coupon policy to overcome COVID-19. Emart plans to sequentially hold discount events for livestock and eco-friendly agricultural products in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Lotte Mart will also hold the ‘Korea Agricultural Discount (Agricultural Products, Dining Out, Rural Travel Discount Campaign)’ event at all stores for 11 days from the 30th of this month to the 9th of next month. The main events are the agricultural, livestock, and fishery product coupon event hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for rural economic recovery and the fishery support event hosted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

First, from the 30th of this month to the 9th of next month, Lotte Mart will provide instant discount coupons of 2,000, 4,000, 6,000, 8,000, and 10,000 KRW for purchases of 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 40,000, and 50,000 KRW or more by category. When purchasing domestic fruits and vegetables, customers can receive discount coupons up to 6,000 KRW, and when purchasing pork worth 10,000 KRW or more, a 2,000 KRW discount coupon is provided. For eggs and rice, purchasing 5,000 KRW or more grants a 1,000 KRW discount coupon each, and for eco-friendly agricultural products, discount coupons up to 10,000 KRW are provided. Each category is limited to one use.

The seafood consumption promotion discount event in cooperation with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will also be held from the 30th of this month to the 5th of next month. Representative discounted items include aged rockfish sashimi and steamed sea bream. Similarly, instant discounts of 2,000, 4,000, 6,000, 8,000, and 10,000 KRW are available for purchases of 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 40,000, and 50,000 KRW or more. There is a maximum limit of 10,000 KRW per person once, and it is limited to Lotte Members.

Lotte’s own event to promote consumption will also be introduced. From the 30th of this month to the 5th of next month, representative farm products such as Uiseong Hanji-type garlic and pork front and hind legs will be sold at a discount for L.Point members. Famous onions from production areas such as Hamyang and Muan, GAP-certified peaches linked with Chungju City, and pork belly and neck meat will also be offered. Event products will have the agricultural product coupon instant discount coupon additionally applied on top of the event price for each item.

Farmers Losing Sales Channels Due to Prolonged COVID-19

Major supermarkets and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs planned this event to stimulate the sluggish domestic market caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and to help domestic farmers facing difficulties by promoting the consumption of agricultural and livestock products. In fact, farmers are struggling to secure sales channels as demand for dining out has decreased and school meal purchases have declined due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation.

According to the ‘Analysis of Changes in Agricultural Food Consumption in the Dining Out and School Meal Sectors after the Outbreak of COVID-19’ report released last month by the Korea Rural Economic Institute, nationwide restaurant sales from February to April this year are estimated at 25.2454 trillion KRW, a 21% decrease compared to the previous year. Due to the sales decline, nationwide restaurant ingredient purchases during this period decreased by about 2.3817 trillion KRW. Additionally, due to school meal suspension caused by delayed school openings, unused school meal ingredient costs from March to May are estimated to reach about 632.5 billion KRW.

Gwak Jeong-woo, head of Emart’s Grocery Division, said, “Through this agricultural product discount event conducted with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, we hope to support domestic farms struggling to secure sales channels and provide customers with discounts that they can tangibly feel, helping to revitalize the sluggish domestic market.”

Kim Chang-yong, head of Lotte Mart’s Product Division, also said, “As COVID-19 prolongs and domestic consumption remains sluggish, we planned various products to actively participate in the coupon events hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to promote domestic agricultural, livestock, and fishery product consumption. We hope customers will enjoy our domestic agricultural products at affordable prices during the event period.”

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