Concerns Over Fukushima Contaminated Water Discharge... Salt Demand and Prices Soar

20kg Cheonil Salt Price Up 83%

Recently, concerns over the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima, Japan, have increased, leading to a significant rise in online salt purchases.

Salt is being sold at a large supermarket in Seoul.
Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

According to price comparison service Danawa on the 16th, the transaction amount of salt sold online from the 7th to the 13th of this month surged by 817% compared to the previous week.

As demand for salt sharply increased, prices also rose. On the 14th of this month, the average transaction price for 20kg of sea salt was 57,840 won, which is 83% higher than the previous month's average transaction price of 31,540 won. Due to a shortage of supply causing scarcity, some products are being traded at 2 to 3 times the price.

Online Salt Transaction Trends.
[Photo by Danawa]

The average purchase quantity per order of salt was 3.3 units, an increase of more than 50% compared to the previous week. More consumers are buying multiple units of salt in a single purchase.

A Danawa representative said, “The surge in salt sales is because consumers, worried about the contaminated water discharge, have started buying salt in bulk. The price of 1kg of sea salt, which was sold at around 4,000 won, has risen to the 7,000 won range. Due to the demand explosion, there is a large price variation across different channels, so it is necessary to compare prices before purchasing.”

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