'Mismatching' Kit Shortage, Normalization Expected as Early as This Week

Production and Distribution System Causes Shortages
Labor Shortage Hinders Production Expansion
Daily Fluctuations in Stock Quantity and Prices
Government to Supply 30 Million Units This Month
Jungdabon "Strengthening Distribution Management"

On the 13th, an official at Yuseong Pharmacy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, is posting a notice regarding the purchase of COVID-19 self-test kits. According to distribution improvement measures, online sales of self-test kits are prohibited from this day until March 5, and individuals are limited to purchasing up to five kits at a time from pharmacies and convenience stores. However, there is no restriction on purchasing multiple times a day, and online stock can be sold until the 16th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] "All the stock of self-test kits has been sold out. I don't know when they will be restocked."

On the morning of the 14th, Mr. A, a man in his 30s who works in Seoul's Gangdong-gu, tried to purchase a COVID-19 self-test kit at a pharmacy but came up empty-handed again. He expressed frustration, saying he couldn't find a single kit at three pharmacies he briefly visited on his way to work.

◇Some pharmacies and convenience stores have zero stock= Since the government banned online sales of self-test kits and limited purchases to five kits per person starting the previous day, obtaining a self-test kit on this first weekday remained as difficult as "catching a star in the sky." Visiting 10 pharmacies around Gangdong-gu and Gwangjin-gu, none had any self-test kits in stock. The situation was similar at convenience stores. As of 9 a.m. that day, an app-based check of over 100 CU convenience stores in Gangdong-gu showed most had no stock, and one store that had two kits left saw its inventory drop to zero within just one minute.

At least on online shopping malls where only existing stock can be sold, prices for self-test kits remained relatively stable. While pharmacies and convenience stores sold two-test kits for around 16,000 won each, online prices were mostly between 17,000 and 18,000 won. However, the remaining stock is expected to be depleted soon. A representative from a sales company said, "Orders have already piled up," adding, "The stock will be cleared quickly."

On the 13th, COVID-19 self-test kits are being sold at Yuseong Pharmacy in Jongno-gu, Seoul. According to distribution improvement measures, online sales are prohibited from this day until March 5, and individuals are limited to purchasing up to five kits at a time from pharmacies or convenience stores. However, there is no restriction on purchasing multiple times a day, and online stock can be sold until the 16th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

◇Impact on production and distribution systems= The ongoing shortage of self-test kits around the Lunar New Year holiday earlier this month is mainly attributed to an imbalance between supply and demand. While citizens, alarmed by the spread of the Omicron variant, have flocked to buy self-test kits, manufacturers find it difficult to quickly increase production personnel. A representative from Sugentech, a self-test kit manufacturer, said, "No matter how we solve equipment issues, production ultimately requires human hands, and it's not easy to increase manpower quickly."

However, some at sales sites such as pharmacies point to deficiencies in the distribution system rather than production volume itself. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, a total of 35.46 million self-test kits were supplied in the first and second weeks of this month?10.86 million for public use and 24.6 million for private use. Despite this supply volume not being insufficient, a 'mismatch' phenomenon is occurring on the ground where stock is lacking. A pharmacy official said, "Some days we receive only 50 kits, other days 200, and the quantities fluctuate, with prices varying daily as well," adding, "Even if we place an order today, we don't know when the stock will arrive, which is frustrating."

There are also doubts about the effectiveness of limiting purchases to five kits per person. This is because individuals can visit multiple pharmacies and convenience stores, making it impossible to prevent bulk buying by a single person.

The government announced plans to supply a total of 30 million self-test kits available for individual purchase from this day until the end of the month. If these are properly supplied to pharmacies and convenience stores, the shortage is expected to gradually ease as early as this week. Kwon Deok-cheol, the first deputy head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures meeting that day, "We will strengthen the distribution management of self-test kits to resolve supply and demand instability."

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