Rising Prices Make Chuseok Already Fearful... Government Puts Full Effort into Price Stabilization

Prices of major ingredients frequently appearing on ordinary people's tables continue to rise, which is expected to increase the burden of preparing holiday meals for Chuseok, now just a month away. On the 17th, citizens were shopping at the Nonghyup Hanaro Mart Yangjae branch in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] With Chuseok just three weeks away, consumer prices are on high alert. The impact of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) has persisted for a year, and combined with poor crop yields due to the heatwave and the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) after three months, prices of major food ingredients have surged, making this Chuseok expected to have the most expensive table setting costs in history.

According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) on the 28th, meat prices are rising daily. The price of 100g of Samgyeopsal is 2,693 won, up 15.8% from the previous year, and it is expected to rise further due to the recent ASF outbreak after three months. ASF has been detected in pig farms in Hongcheon following Goseong and Inje in Gangwon Province, raising concerns about spread to nearby areas. If a movement ban order is issued, nationwide supply disruptions may occur, potentially causing prices to rise even more ahead of Chuseok.

The price of Korean beef (Hanwoo) has been on the rise since last year due to the combined effects of disaster relief payments and increased demand for home-cooked meals after COVID-19. This year, with 88% of the population receiving disaster relief payments, demand for Hanwoo is expected to increase. When disaster relief payments began last year, Hanwoo prices rose about 8% during that week, so a similar increase is expected as payments become widespread this year. Currently, the price of 100g of Hanwoo sirloin is 13,040 won, up 8.5% from the previous year, and it is likely to exceed 14,000 won due to the disaster relief effect.

Fruit prices are also on alert. The price of 10 Hongro apples is 23,491 won, up 6.8% from last year. The price of 10 Wonhwang pears is 32,390 won, 12.8% more expensive than last year. This is due to poor crop yields caused by the continuous 35-degree scorching heat. The price of 10 Baekdo peaches has also risen 30.4% compared to last year.

In response, the government plans to increase the daily average supply of 16 essential items by 1.4 times compared to normal before Chuseok, and will implement additional measures to stabilize prices for four major items: eggs, beef, pork, and rice. The government intends to proactively manage items expected to have strong price increases.

For eggs, which recently rose more than 50% compared to the previous year, the government will import 100 million eggs next month and increase the volume of ‘tariff quota’ imports with a 0% tariff rate depending on future import volumes. For beef and pork, considering the increased demand due to disaster relief payments, supply will be expanded by increasing shipments through the Nonghyup system.

Agricultural products will be supplied at 2.4 times the normal level and released intensively during the Chuseok period. Stockpiles of cabbage and radish have been expanded more than threefold, and contracted shipment volumes of apples and pears have been increased by 1.3 to 2 times. The government plans to deploy additional policy measures such as the vegetable price stabilization system if price instability occurs.

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