Except for 'Igeot', All Prices Rose... Last Month's Dining-Out Prices Hit a 10-Year High

According to the consumer price trends for December 2021 and the annual report released by Statistics Korea on the 2nd, prices rose by 3.7% compared to the same month in 2020. Additionally, the increase rate of dining-out prices in December last year (4.8%) is the highest in 10 years and 3 months since September 2011 (4.8%). The photo shows a large supermarket in Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] In December last year, dining-out prices rose by 4.8% compared to the previous year, marking the highest increase in over a decade. This is attributed to the rise in costs of ingredients such as agricultural, livestock, and marine products, as well as processed foods, along with increased dining-out demand toward the year-end.

According to the consumer price trends for December 2021 and the entire year announced by Statistics Korea on the 2nd, prices rose by 3.7% compared to the same month in 2020.

Additionally, the 4.8% increase in dining-out prices in December last year is the highest in 10 years and 3 months since September 2011 (4.8%).

Among 39 dining-out price items, coffee (0.0%) was the only item that did not see a price increase compared to the previous year.

The highest price increases were in the following order: Galbitang (10.0%), raw fish (8.9%), Makgeolli (7.8%), juk (rice porridge) (7.7%), beef (7.5%), gimbap (6.6%), chicken (6.0%), pizza (6.0%), fried rice (5.9%), and seolleongtang (ox bone soup) (5.7%). Pork ribs (5.6%), jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) (5.5%), ramen (5.5%), samgyeopsal (pork belly) (5.3%), naengmyeon (cold noodles) (5.3%), hamburgers (5.2%), bibimbap (5.0%), jjambbong (spicy seafood noodle soup) (5.0%), and tonkatsu (pork cutlet) (4.9%) also exceeded the overall dining-out price increase rate.

For the entire last year, dining-out prices rose by 2.8%, the highest increase since 2018 (3.0%).

The dining-out price increase rate was only 1.3% in January last year but accelerated in the latter half of the year, rising to 2.0% in March, 3.1% in August, and 4.1% in November.

The recent surge in dining-out prices is largely analyzed to be due to supply-side factors such as rising ingredient costs.

Prices of agricultural, livestock, and marine products, which had been soaring in the first half of last year, seemed to slow down in September (3.1%) and October (0.5%), but rose sharply again in November (7.6%) and December (7.8%). In particular, livestock product prices in December increased by 14.7% compared to the previous year, centered on eggs (33.2%), imported beef (22.2%), and pork (14.7%). Processed food prices also rose from 1.2% in January last year to 3.8% in December as the upward trend intensified in the second half of the year.

Furthermore, the increase in dining-out demand also appears to have influenced the rise in dining-out prices.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, restaurant card sales increased by 11.7% in November last year, when the With COVID-19 policy began, compared to the previous year.

Moreover, from December 1 to 18, sales surged by 47.1%. This reflects increased dining-out demand toward the year-end before quarantine measures were strengthened again on December 18.

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