Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: "Apple and Pear Prices Unavoidably Strong Until This Fall"

The government expects the prices of agricultural and livestock products to gradually improve after March, but forecasts that prices of apples and pears will remain strong until the new fruit harvest due to a shortage of stored supplies.

On the 7th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that after March, with rising temperatures and increased sunlight, improved weather conditions and expanded shipping areas are expected to improve the supply and demand situation of agricultural products, especially facility-grown vegetables, compared to February.

For livestock products, stable supply and demand conditions for beef, pork, and chicken are expected to be maintained, and egg prices are also forecasted to continue declining at production sites. However, for apples and pears, prices are expected to remain strong until this fall when the new fruit harvest arrives, due to a shortage of stored supplies.

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The consumer price index for agricultural and livestock products in February rose 2.9% from the previous month and 12.8% year-on-year. Prices of fruits such as apples and pears, whose production decreased by about 30% compared to the previous year due to abnormal low temperatures and typhoons last year, rose 40.6% year-on-year, leading the overall increase in agricultural product prices. In the case of vegetables, prices of tomatoes, green onions, and others showed strength due to frequent rainfall in February and a decrease in sunlight by more than 40% compared to the previous year.

For livestock products, supply and demand conditions were relatively favorable, so prices in February fell 1.5% from the previous month. However, due to a base effect caused by the price index reaching its lowest level of the year in February and March last year, the year-on-year increase rate recorded 1.1%. In addition, the price of imported beef rose 4.9% year-on-year, significantly impacting the rise in livestock product prices.

Park Su-jin, Director of the Food Policy Office at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "Although agricultural and livestock product prices are high due to reduced fruit and vegetable production caused by weather impacts, we expect gradual improvement after March. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will focus all available policy measures, including support for producer supply prices, consumer discounts, and expanded supply through tariff quotas, especially for fruits and vegetables, until alternative fruits such as chamoe are fully shipped, to stabilize grocery prices as soon as possible."

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