"Cabbage Prices Soar 67%" Shopping Basket Inflation Rises... Even Rent Increases

Statistics Korea Announces September Consumer Price Trends

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The prices of agricultural, livestock, and marine products have surged due to consecutive natural disasters and increased demand for home-cooked meals, intensifying the burden on grocery prices. Despite the government's real estate stabilization policies, jeonse (long-term lease) and monthly rent prices are also soaring. Concerns are rising that the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic is further worsening the economic conditions for ordinary citizens.

According to the 'September Consumer Price Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 6th, the 1.0% inflation rate last month was driven by food products, especially agricultural products centered on vegetables whose cultivation volume decreased due to damage from the rainy season and typhoons. Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 8.3% compared to the previous year, marking the highest increase since August 2011 (11.2%). Among the 12 expenditure categories, this was the largest increase, and the contribution increase (1.17%) was also the highest across all sectors.

Looking at the price nature of items, the most notable upward trend appeared in agricultural, livestock, and marine products. Last month, these products rose 13.5%, the highest since March 2011 (14.6%). Among them, agricultural products increased by 19.0%, with vegetable prices soaring by 34.7%. Livestock products (7.3%) and marine products (6.0%) also rose.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Among major items, vegetable prices related to the kimjang (kimchi-making) season rose one after another. Cabbage surged 67.3% compared to the same month last year, radish 89.8%, and green onions 40.1%. The upward trends of apples (21.8%) and tomatoes (54.7%) were also notably visible.

Not only food but also housing costs have increased. Among service items, rent rose 0.4% compared to last year, marking the largest increase since August 2018 (0.5%). Among these, jeonse (0.5%) rose the most in 1 year and 7 months since February 2019 (0.6%), and monthly rent (0.3%) rose the most in 3 years and 10 months since November 2016 (0.4%). Among personal services, which are also classified as service items, dining-out costs increased by 1.0% compared to last year. This means that both the cost of eating at home and eating out are rising.

Price declines were observed in some items such as public services and industrial products. Industrial products showed a year-on-year decline of -0.7% due to a 12% drop in petroleum prices, and public services also fell 1.4% during the same period. The largest impact was from the decline in high school tuition fees (-74.7%). Among agricultural, livestock, and marine products, price declines were seen mainly in grains such as soybeans (-13.5%), brown rice (-5.7%), glutinous rice (-5.4%), and barley (-8.1%).

Although no specific forecast was made, Statistics Korea anticipated that vegetable prices might stabilize starting this month. Ahn Hyungjun, Director of Economic Trend Statistics at Statistics Korea, said, "Vegetable prices are currently high, but the weather has been improving since September," adding, "Considering the growing period (70-80 days), the harvest of currently cultivated cabbage and radish is expected around late October to early November."

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