Half-Price Hwe and Shine Muscat... Emart 27th Anniversary 'Fresh Discount Festival'

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Emart is holding a fresh food discount event for a week starting from the 12th to celebrate its 27th anniversary.

They plan to stabilize grocery prices through various fresh food events including seafood such as yellowtail, fresh oysters, and freshwater eel; agricultural products such as potatoes, Shine Muscat grapes, and kimchi ingredients; and livestock products such as Korean beef, pork belly, and neck meat. For seafood, Emart is conducting the ‘Korea Seafood Festa’ in collaboration with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, offering up to 20% discount on event products up to 10,000 KRW when Shinsegae Point members verify their membership.

The representative product, seasonal yellowtail sashimi, will be offered at about half price. The ‘Moseulpo Yellowtail Sashimi’ (approximately 480g), enough for 4 to 5 people, will be sold at a discounted price of 14,240 KRW. Compared to last year’s event price of 15,800 KRW for 240g, this is more than 50% cheaper. Emart purchased 40 tons of yellowtail for the week-long event to support fishermen who need to expand sales channels after the cancellation of the Moseulpo Yellowtail Festival, which usually attracts 200,000 to 250,000 participants annually. They plan to continue promoting yellowtail sales thereafter.

Oysters, whose prices have surged, are also prepared at affordable prices. November is the peak season for oysters, but due to the long rainy season this summer causing oxygen depletion in the water, mortality rates rose to 40%, sharply reducing shipments and increasing prices by about 40% compared to the previous year. Emart minimized price increases through direct transactions with partner companies that operate their own oyster farms and support from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, offering fresh oysters from the southern coast (150g) at 3,600 KRW. Cleaned freshwater eel is sold at 4,960 KRW per 100g, domestic fresh webfoot octopus at 1,800 KRW per 100g, extra-large Spanish mackerel (over 2kg) at 14,400 KRW, and king size (over 3kg) at 23,200 KRW with discounts.

Shine Muscat grapes are carefully selected for high quality. Extra-large Shine Muscat (around 800g) is priced at 13,500 KRW per bunch. Emart’s own Fresh Center selects only grapes weighing about 15g each, and individual packaging allows customers to choose the products they want. Premium King Shine Muscat (1.5kg, 2 to 3 bunches) is sold at 29,800 KRW. Collaborating with farms in the Gyeongsan region, known for medium to high-quality Shine Muscat, only premium grapes weighing over 18g each are selected.

Potatoes, a winter delicacy snack, are prepared affordably through full-set purchasing. Emart lowers purchase prices by buying the entire production volume from farms regardless of size or weight through the full-set purchasing method, offering Sumi potatoes (900g) at the same price as last year, 1,980 KRW. Major potato producing areas saw about a 30% decrease in harvest volume due to the rainy season, causing wholesale prices to rise compared to the previous year.

In preparation for kimchi season, Emart is selling kimchi ingredients at up to 40% discounted prices in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Event products include altari radish, Dolsan mustard greens, chives, soil green onions, spring cabbage, and dried red peppers. Emart lowers prices by 20-25% compared to regular prices, and with support from the Ministry, Shinsegae Point members receive an additional 20% discount. Final discounted prices are 2,384 KRW for 2kg of altari radish, 3,980 KRW for 2kg of Dolsan mustard greens, 1,580 KRW for 250g of chives, 2,384 KRW for 500g of soil green onions, 1,584 KRW for 500g of spring cabbage, and 39,840 KRW for 1.8kg of dried red peppers.

While the price of napa cabbage, which surged due to the long rainy season, has stabilized to average levels as autumn cabbage production begins in earnest, prices of green onions and chives, main ingredients for green onion kimchi and chive kimchi based on Garak-dong Agricultural and Marine Products Market, rose by 57% and 37% respectively compared to last year. For green onions, the long rainy summer caused excessive soil moisture, delaying root establishment and reducing shipments. For chives, the main production area in the southern region was affected by typhoons during the sowing period in September, reducing shipments and raising prices.

Emart was able to offer kimchi vegetables at affordable prices through advance purchases and support from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and plans to continue the kimchi ingredient discount event by changing items weekly over three weeks. Additionally, Korean beef for soup is available at 4,340 KRW per 100g for 1+ grade and 3,850 KRW for 1st grade with Shinsegae Point member verification, a 30% discount. Branded pork belly and neck meat from Maekdon, The Neulim, Hansol Farm, and others are sold at a uniform price of 2,580 KRW per 100g.

Choi Hoon-hak, Emart’s Marketing Executive Director, said, “To celebrate our 27th anniversary, we are conducting a large-scale fresh food discount event. We believe that through agricultural, livestock, and seafood events, we will help stabilize consumer grocery prices as well as expand sales channels for farmers.”

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