Poor Chili Pepper Crop in Yeongyang-gun... Farmers Deeply Concerned, Special Support Under Review

Yeongyang County Office.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gwiyeol] This year's chili pepper production has significantly decreased, causing difficulties for farmers in the production areas.

In the Yeongyang region of Gyeongbuk, early growth was poor due to cold damage in mid-May and drought and high temperature damage in June. Additionally, frequent rains in August, just before harvest, led to the spread of viral diseases, resulting in reduced chili pepper yields and deteriorated quality.

This year, the yield of dried chili peppers per 10 ares in Yeongyang County is expected to decrease by about 22% compared to the previous year, to around 240 kg.

Despite the poor chili pepper crop and reduced production, the increase in chili pepper prices has fallen short of expectations due to last year's stock, sluggish consumption, and quality degradation, causing farmers to sigh. Furthermore, with rising labor and material costs followed by increased fuel costs for drying chili peppers, the burden on farmers is inevitably growing.

Accordingly, the county plans to temporarily expand the eligibility for incentive payments to farmers shipping this year's red chili peppers from those with a delivery rate of 60% or higher to those with a delivery rate of 30% or higher, providing support of 300 won per kilogram. In addition, special support measures for chili drying costs are being actively considered to compensate for income losses caused by increased production costs of dried chili peppers.

Oh Do-chang, the governor of Yeongyang County, said, "This year's chili pepper crop is very poor, and I hope this support will help farmers who are deeply worried. In the long term, we will strive for policies that guarantee production costs."

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