Record Heavy Rain Ahead of Chuseok... Food Prices 'Fluctuate'

Early Heatwave and Heavy Rain... What About Crop Damage?
Crop Prices Rise After Heavy Rain Ahead of Chuseok
Government Increases Supply Scale and Discount Coupons for Seasonal Products to Record High

Ahead of Chuseok, there is an emergency in the price of food on the table. According to the National Statistical Portal (KOSIS) of the Statistics Korea, the food and non-alcoholic beverage price index in July was 113.12 (2020=100), up 8.0% from a year earlier. Food prices rose the most in one year and five months since February last year. In particular, prices of processed foods such as edible oils (34.7%) and fresh foods such as vegetables and seaweed (24.4%) rose sharply. Citizens are shopping at a large supermarket in downtown Seoul on the 7th. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Following the heatwave, heavy rains have struck farming areas, signaling a sharp rise in agricultural product prices. With high inflation persisting and prices of agricultural and livestock products already increased, the overlap with the Chuseok holiday is expected to further burden consumers.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the 14th, as of 2 p.m. on the 11th, 551 hectares of crops were damaged due to the heavy rains that began on the 8th. Flood damage accounted for 548.3 hectares (rice 356.2 hectares, field crops 42.5 hectares, vegetables 83.3 hectares, fruit trees 3.1 hectares, others 63.2 hectares), and fruit drop and loss damage was 2.8 hectares.

In terms of livestock, 86,552 animals (2 cattle, 250 laying hens, 86,300 broilers) died, and 660 bee colonies were also affected. Additionally, 0.1 hectares of vinyl greenhouses were damaged, and 8.2 hectares of farmland were lost or buried.

Although the heavy rain has stopped, damage is expected to continue. Feed for livestock is prone to spoilage due to moisture. In particular, flooding of barns caused by rainwater and the inflow of various soil materials into farms increase the risk of soil-borne diseases such as botulism and blackleg.

'Botulism' is a toxic disease caused by animals ingesting neurotoxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria, resulting in paralysis of nerves and a high mortality rate of 30-45%. Paralysis occurs in the front legs, head, and neck muscles, and respiratory muscle paralysis leads to death within three days.

Jo Jae-ho, Administrator of the Rural Development Administration (second from the right), is inspecting the damage at a tomato farm in Toechon-myeon, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, where flooding damage occurred due to heavy rain on the 12th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, farmers also suffered from an early heatwave. This year, heatwave warnings came more than ten days earlier than usual, causing deaths among heat-sensitive chickens and pigs. In Jeonbuk, since mid-June, about 67,700 livestock including 57,033 chickens, 8,490 ducks, and 2,197 pigs have died. In Gyeongbuk, 22,968 chickens and 4,597 pigs died.

When heavy rain follows a heatwave as in this case, the risk of various damages increases. Diseases such as soft rot (cabbage, radish) and anthracnose (pepper) may increase, affecting crop growth. Fruit trees’ fruits may also soften or burst.

Immediately after the heavy rain, the price increase of major items accelerated. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) Agricultural Product Distribution Information (KAMIS) on the 12th, the wholesale price of 20 kg of radish rose sharply by about 24% from 21,200 won on August 5 to 28,180 won. During the same period, the price of 10 kg of cucumber increased by about 43% from 23,800 won to 34,250 won, and the price of 4 kg of spinach rose by about 7.4% from 47,240 won to 50,780 won.

Strong rain accompanied by strong winds is forecast to bring more than 300 mm of rainfall mainly in the central region, Jeonbuk, and Gyeongbuk areas for the time being, prompting the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to prepare related measures. The ministry stated, "We will maintain an emergency supply and demand management response system focusing on major items (cabbage, radish, potato, apple, pear, etc.) in the central region including Gangwon, Gyeonggi, and Chungbuk, where heavy rains occurred, and minimize the impact on supply and demand during the peak season through pre- and post-management."

The government announced on the 11th that it will issue the largest-ever discount coupons as a Chuseok price control measure. To lower the average prices of 20 major seasonal items such as cabbage, radish, pork, and pollock to last year's Chuseok levels, the supply scale of seasonal items will be increased to 1.4 times the usual level, and discount coupons worth a total of 65 billion won will be distributed. From the 15th to next month’s 12th, the discount rate on coupons for purchasing agricultural, livestock, and fishery products will be 20-30%. The per-person usage limit will also increase from the previous 10,000 won (20,000 won for traditional markets and direct stores) to 20,000-40,000 won.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho said, "We will ensure that actual purchase prices are reduced through the largest-ever discount coupon support," and added, "We will also strengthen special management of major items such as cabbage and apples to prevent supply and demand disruptions caused by recent heavy rains."

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