Seafood Prices Rise Including Mackerel and Squid... Government Expands Stockpiling to Stabilize Prices

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] As the prices of seafood such as mackerel and squid rise, the government has taken measures to stabilize prices by releasing stockpiles. There are also plans to actively expand seafood win-win discounts to simultaneously promote consumption.

On the 12th, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries held a meeting chaired by Minister Moon Seong-hyeok with the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, producer organizations, and large supermarkets to review seafood consumption trends in the first half of the year and discuss supply and demand strategies for the second half.

As of July this year, the seafood consumer price index recorded 120.13, which is 1.5% lower than the previous month. However, this is 7.5% higher than the average of normal years (2016?2020 average). The seafood consumer price index exceeding the normal average is analyzed to be due to price increases in high-weight items such as mackerel and squid among the 14 items that make up the index.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries decided to ease consumer burdens by releasing government stockpiles and supporting the industry through demand creation.

First, the scale of the government stockpiling project will be expanded from 70.5 billion won to 100.5 billion won. Before Chuseok, up to 9,200 tons of six popular fish species will be released at prices discounted by 10?30% compared to market prices, increasing the market supply volume to 1.17 times the usual level. In the second half of the year, up to 18,000 tons will be purchased, but to stabilize prices during Chuseok, government purchases in the second half will be pushed to after the holiday as much as possible.

Price management of popular fish species will also be strengthened. Six popular fish species will be selected as seasonal items before Chuseok, and supply and demand trends will be closely monitored to manage prices. The Ministry will collaborate with the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) Fisheries Industry Observation Center to monitor price trends daily and operate a 'price traffic light' system to judge price stability.

Additionally, to promote seafood consumption and support the industry, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will expand the seafood win-win discount support project from 39 billion won to 59 billion won and plans to hold more than six discount events in the second half of the year. These events will be conducted in cooperation with 31 online and offline distribution companies, and discount items will be selected for each event by an item selection committee considering supply and demand trends. An average of 15 items will be selected per event, including six popular fish species such as mackerel, hairtail, squid, pollock, yellow croaker, and dried anchovies.

In particular, for the special Chuseok event held in September, the per-person discount limit will be raised from 10,000 won to 20,000 won to reduce consumer burden. A booth event will also be promoted to revitalize traditional markets by refunding part of the purchase amount in Onnuri gift certificates.

Minister Moon Seong-hyeok said, "As the COVID-19 situation prolongs and holidays like Chuseok approach, there are concerns about rising prices. We will actively promote consumption while steadily implementing projects to alleviate the burden on citizens' grocery bills."

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