"Everything Except Salaries Has Risen" A Carton of Eggs at 7,000 Won... 'Table Price' Shaken

Price Hikes on Rice, Green Onions, Red Pepper Powder... "Shopping Is Scary"
Consumer Price for a Carton of Eggs 7,432 Won
Government Plans to Increase Supply of Key Seasonal Goods Ahead of Lunar New Year Holiday

Eggs displayed at a mart. Due to highly pathogenic avian influenza, egg prices have surged sharply, with the wholesale price per carton approaching 6,000 won.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] # Kim, a man in his 30s living alone in Seoul, recently sighs every time he goes to the supermarket. Kim said, "First of all, rice prices have gone up, so it's definitely tough," sighing deeply. The burden is even greater for college students living alone who make a living through part-time jobs without a steady income. Lee, a college student in his 20s, lamented, "When basic necessities like rice and eggs go up, daily life inevitably gets shaken. It means the monthly plan gets disrupted."

Recently, as the prices of staple foods in Korea have risen sharply, the sighs of ordinary people continue. According to the January consumer price trends announced by Statistics Korea, agricultural products rose by an average of 11.2% compared to the previous year. Not only rice (12.3%) but also green onions (76.9%), red pepper powder (34.4%), and onions (60.3%) saw significant increases.

In addition, eggs, affected by the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI), jumped by 15.2%. This is the largest increase since March last year, when it rose by 20.3%. Pork rose by 18.0%, and domestic beef by 10.0%.

Meanwhile, as egg prices soared sharply due to AI, the wholesale price of a carton of eggs approached 6,000 won. According to the Livestock Products Quality Evaluation Institute's livestock distribution information on the 5th, the wholesale price of a carton of eggs (30 special-grade eggs) was 5,955 won, nearing the 6,000 won mark.

The consumer price of a carton of eggs reached the 6,000 won range on the 6th of last month at 6,027 won, and just 22 days later, on the 28th of last month, it surpassed the 7,000 won mark at 7,253 won. The upward trend continued, reaching 7,432 won the day before. This egg price is 43.3% higher than the average price in February last year and 21.6% higher than the previous month. The farm gate price of eggs (10 special-grade eggs) was 1,924 won, nearly double the average of 1,005 won in February last year.

Lee Jung-hyun, head of the price trends division at Statistics Korea, explained on the morning of the 2nd at the government complex in Sejong City while announcing the January 2021 consumer price trends, "While the overall living cost index is stable, prices of agricultural, livestock, and fishery products, which people feel more directly, are rising."

Citizens are shopping at a mart. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

As prices of grains and livestock products rose, processed foods using these as raw materials were also affected. Pulmuone raised prices of bean sprouts and tofu, while Sempio Foods and Dongwon F&B increased canned food prices.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced last month that the food price index, including grains and meat, reached its highest level in three years, stating, "Food inflation is now a reality." This is why concerns about agflation, inflation caused by rising grain prices, are emerging. Agflation is a newly coined term combining agriculture and inflation, referring to a phenomenon where a sharp rise in agricultural product prices leads to an increase in general prices.

As grocery prices rise like this, ordinary people are voicing their difficulties. Especially, those reducing expenses due to the COVID-19 situation feel the burden more heavily.

Choi, a man in his 40s working in Seoul, said, "When the prices of grains, which we basically eat, go up, the increase feels even bigger," adding, "These are items we have no choice but to buy, so it feels even more burdensome."

Another office worker in his 30s, Lee, said, "Sometimes I go to the supermarket not just to buy things but also to refresh my mood. But with prices rising, it actually causes stress."

The government plans to expand the supply of key seasonal products to prevent the burden on ordinary people's prices from increasing ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. Kim Yong-beom, the first vice minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said at the macroeconomic and financial meeting held on the 2nd, "Ahead of the Lunar New Year, we will expand the supply of key seasonal products to prevent the burden on ordinary people's prices from increasing. Especially for eggs, which have recently shown a sharp price increase, we will do our best to improve supply and demand by expanding imports through the application of tariff quotas and releasing stockpiled quantities."

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