Garak Market's Fruit and Vegetable Transactions Reach 2.1744 Trillion Won in the First Half of This Year

Transaction Volume 1.14 Million Tons, Transaction Amount 2.1744 Trillion KRW... 1.4% Decrease in Volume, 9.4% Increase in Amount Compared to Same Period Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation (President Kim Kyung-ho) announced that according to the "2020 First Half Garak Market Fresh Produce Transaction Performance Analysis," the volume of fresh produce brought into Garak Market in the first half of 2020 was 1.14 million tons, a 1.4% decrease compared to the same period last year (1.16 million tons), while the transaction amount was 2.1744 trillion KRW, a 9.4% increase compared to the same period last year (1.9875 trillion KRW).

By category, the transaction volume of fruits decreased by 3.9% compared to the same period last year due to low temperatures and cold damage during the fruit setting period, whereas the transaction amount increased by 1.4%. For vegetables, the transaction volume decreased by 1.1% due to a reduction in cultivation area, but the transaction amount increased by 11.2% due to price increases.

Regarding transaction performance by wholesale market corporations, the transaction volume and amount of Nonghyup Garak Wholesale Market and Daea Cheonggwa both increased compared to the same period last year, while the transaction volumes of Seoul Cheonggwa, Joongang Cheonggwa, Donghwa Cheonggwa, and Hanguk Cheonggwa decreased, but their transaction amounts increased.

In particular, Daea Cheonggwa, which mainly trades open-field vegetables (such as radish and napa cabbage), saw a significant increase in transaction amount compared to the previous year's weak prices.

The transaction volume of non-listed items (direct transactions by intermediate wholesalers) decreased by 2.4%, while the transaction amount increased by 1.3%.

The top five items by transaction volume were onion (122,000 tons), radish (80,000 tons), cucumber (67,000 tons), green onion (58,000 tons), and napa cabbage (51,000 tons). The top five items by transaction amount were strawberry (136.5 billion KRW), cucumber (107.2 billion KRW), onion (100.8 billion KRW), fresh chili pepper (99.3 billion KRW), and tomato (99.2 billion KRW).

Imported agricultural products totaled 105,000 tons, accounting for about 9.2% of the total transaction volume. The transaction volume of imported fruits was 61,000 tons, a 6.2% decrease compared to the same period last year (65,000 tons), with major items such as banana, orange, grape, and pineapple decreasing.

The transaction volume of imported vegetables was 44,000 tons, a 6.5% decrease compared to the same period last year (47,000 tons), with decreases in carrot, bean sprouts, and onion.

The performance of shipment incentives and shipment advance payments, which are indicators showing efforts to attract volume from producers and shippers, were found to be significantly lower for wholesale market corporations compared to the standards set by Seoul City ordinances and those for intermediate wholesalers and market wholesalers trading non-listed items in Gangseo Market.

The shipment incentive payments by wholesale market corporations are limited to within 15% of consignment commission income according to the ordinance, but the actual payment performance was only 8.9% of consignment commissions, which is even lower than the sales incentive payments to intermediate wholesalers (13.1% of consignment commissions).

The shipment advance payments, where wholesale market corporations pay agricultural product funds to shippers in advance, accounted for only 1.1% of the total transaction amount, which is significantly lower than 10.6% for intermediate wholesalers of non-listed items and 8.5% for market wholesalers.

Accordingly, wholesale market corporations are expected to strengthen their active efforts to attract volume from producers and shippers going forward.

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