Strong Prices for Cabbage and Radish Continue in August... Cabbage Wholesale Price Expected to Rise by 80%

As the peak kimchi-making season arrives, prices of key ingredients such as napa cabbage and radish have soared. On the 21st, consumers were selecting napa cabbage at a large supermarket in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The strong prices of baechu (Korean cabbage) and radish are expected to continue until next month.

The Agricultural Outlook Center of the Korea Rural Economic Institute forecasted in its report "Leafy Root Vegetable Supply and Demand Trends and Outlook" on the 24th that the average wholesale price of 10kg of baechu this month will be around 13,500 KRW. This is 78.8% higher than the average for the same month in normal years (7,550 KRW). It is also 28.6% higher than the average baechu wholesale price forecast (10,500 KRW) released by the Agricultural Outlook Center on the 1st of this month.

The wholesale price in August is also expected to rise compared to normal years. This is due to the forecast that the shipment volume of baechu in July and August will decrease by 13.5% and 7.0% respectively compared to normal years. The observation team explained, "Due to deteriorated weather conditions such as high temperatures this month, calcium deficiency and soft rot have occurred in baechu, resulting in poor crop conditions for the quantities shipped in mid to late month."

The wholesale price of radish this month is also predicted to be around 17,000 KRW for 20kg, which is 46.8% higher than the same period in normal years (11,580 KRW). The wholesale price in August is also expected to be higher than last year's same month (11,330 KRW). The shipment volume of radish this month decreased by 17.5% compared to normal years. In particular, the observation team reported that spring open-field radish experienced disease and physiological disorders due to high temperatures in early this month. However, next month's shipment volume is expected to decrease by only 2.1% compared to normal years, and the crop condition of the quantities shipped in mid to late month, which is the peak season for Chuseok, is currently favorable.

The average wholesale price of cabbage this month is 8,000 KRW for 8kg, which is 79.0% higher than the same month in normal years (4,470 KRW), but it is expected to fall below normal years next month. The observation team predicted, "The production volume of spring open-field cabbage is expected to be 60,000 tons, a 16.6% decrease compared to the same month in normal years, but summer cabbage production is expected to increase by 7.2%."

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