"Pickled Cabbage Cheaper Than Fresh Cabbage" ... Distribution Industry Expands Pre-Order Volume

Poor Crop Yield Expected to Raise Prices
Hygiene Concerns Boost Preference for 'Simple Kimjang'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Ahead of the kimchi-making season, major retailers including large supermarkets have significantly increased the sales volume of salted napa cabbage compared to previous years. The demand for salted napa cabbage is rising as more customers seek a simpler way to make kimchi each year, and this year, with the prices of napa cabbage and seasonings soaring, there is an expectation that more customers will opt for the relatively affordable salted napa cabbage.

According to industry sources on the 6th, Emart is currently selling two types of 20kg products containing 8 to 10 salted napa cabbages each through pre-orders until the 10th, priced at 42,300 KRW and 37,300 KRW respectively. When paying with promotional cards, customers can get up to a 20% discount, making the price about 25% cheaper than regular napa cabbage.

Considering that last year’s stock of 10,000 boxes of salted napa cabbage sold out in just three days, Emart has significantly increased its planned volume to 35,000 boxes this year. To secure supply, they have been scouting and contracting with major napa cabbage producing regions for five months and have lowered unit costs by bulk purchasing salted napa cabbage to be sold at Emart, SSG.com, and Emart Everyday, thereby enhancing price competitiveness.

Lotte Mart has also increased its pre-order volume of salted napa cabbage by 125.0% compared to last year. They are offering salted napa cabbage grown in Haenam, Jeonnam, and Yeongwol, Gangwon, at prices cheaper than the market until the 11th, and have prepared 72% more radishes from Gochang and Yeongam, Jeonnam, than the previous year.

Lotte On is holding a "Good Day for Kimchi Making" event until the 21st, offering up to 15% discounts on salted napa cabbage, red pepper powder, salted seafood, and kimchi-making supplies. Do Hyung-rae, a vegetable MD (Merchandiser) at Lotte Mart, said, "This year, the cultivation area for napa cabbage has decreased, and in some regions, high temperature and humidity caused soft rot disease affecting the roots and stems of napa cabbage. Despite these adverse conditions that inevitably raise napa cabbage prices, we secured pre-order volumes to stabilize kimchi prices and offer them at affordable prices."

GS Supermarket secured pre-order volumes from Gangwon, Goesan in Chungbuk, and Haenam in Jeonnam three months before the kimchi-making season began and started sales events early. The first and second pre-orders for salted napa cabbage held from the 13th to the 26th of last month sold out completely within five days each. In the fourth pre-order starting on the 3rd of this month, salted napa cabbage (20kg) from Goesan and Haenam is sold at 33,800 KRW with card promotions, and salted napa cabbage (20kg) from Gangwon is sold at 38,800 KRW, about 12% cheaper than last year.

According to GS Supermarket, over the past five years, the sales volume of salted napa cabbage has steadily increased, with the sales ratio between raw napa cabbage and salted napa cabbage shifting significantly from 46.6% and 53.4% in 2016 to 29.4% and 70.6% in 2019, respectively.

A GS Supermarket official stated, "Due to the impact of COVID-19, demand for everyday meals has increased, and recently, consumer concerns have grown due to unsanitary conditions and raw material labeling violations in some Chinese-made kimchi. We respond by selling only products produced in HACCP-certified factories using domestically sourced salt, allowing customers to make kimchi more safely and conveniently."

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