Chungnam Ginseng 'Wholesale Price Down 36.4%'... Impact of COVID-19 and Others

Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The wholesale price of ginseng traded in Chungnam has sharply declined by 36.4% over the past two years.

According to Chungnam Province on the 21st, the wholesale price of 10 roots (750g) of 4-year-old ginseng traded at the Geumsan Fresh Ginseng Center fell from 44,000 KRW in May 2019 to 28,000 KRW last May.

It is estimated that about 8,500 tons (73% of the total) of the nationwide uncontracted ginseng production total weight of 11,608 tons are distributed through the Geumsan Fresh Ginseng Center.

The province believes that the spread of COVID-19 was the main factor causing the decline in the wholesale price of ginseng traded in the region.

With the strengthening of social distancing measures, visitors to the Geumsan Fresh Ginseng Market sharply decreased, naturally leading to a reduction in ginseng consumption.

The fact that the Geumsan Fresh Ginseng Center mainly trades ginseng through face-to-face and telephone orders is also pointed out as a factor in the decline of wholesale prices.

After the spread of COVID-19, the purchasing method for agricultural, fishery, and livestock products rapidly shifted from face-to-face and in-person visits to non-face-to-face and online, which inevitably caused a slowdown in ginseng transactions at the Geumsan Fresh Ginseng Center.

In addition, the province's analysis suggests that the diversification of alternative health functional foods to ginseng, popularization of wild ginseng, concerns about side effects and residual pesticides, conventional grading standards, and lack of small-package products also influenced the decrease in ginseng consumption.

Accordingly, the province plans to support local ginseng farmers and distribution industries in the short term through events to promote fresh ginseng sales, promotional and sales events at large supermarkets, expansion of entry and sales on Chungnam Province’s agricultural specialty online shopping mall ‘Nongsarang,’ and ginseng sales via agricultural specialty TV home shopping.

Furthermore, efforts will be made to revitalize ginseng distribution by supporting entry into the metropolitan direct transaction center ‘Chungnam Local Food Farmers 161’ located in Daejeon, participation in regular direct transaction markets, export expansion, real-name labeling of ginseng producers, and improvement of distribution units.

In the long term, the province will promote the activation of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification, linkage with school meals, and establishment of supply systems to large supermarkets.

A provincial official stated, “With the prolonged COVID-19 situation, the difficulties faced by local ginseng farmers and distribution industries are gradually increasing. The province plans to promote short-term measures to revitalize ginseng distribution and focus on improving the ginseng distribution system within the region in the long term.”

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