Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: "Decrease in Production of Cabbage and Green Onions... Mobilizing All Available Measures Including Release of Stockpiles"

Operation of Public-Private Joint 'Open-Field Vegetable Growth Management Council' Until Mid-June

To promptly stabilize the supply and demand of open-field vegetables, the government has decided to mobilize all available measures, including the release of stockpiled quantities.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) held the first meeting on the 20th by forming the "Open-field Vegetable Growth Management Council," which includes the Rural Development Administration (City/County Technology Centers), Korea Rural Economic Institute, NongHyup Economic Holdings, and open-field vegetable producing area NongHyup cooperatives.

According to MAFRA, since the fourth quarter of last year, while prices have generally remained high, winter open-field vegetables, which had maintained relatively low prices, saw a decrease in harvest volume from February due to frequent rainfall, leading to a rise in wholesale prices. In particular, cabbage and green onions, which have a high impact on perceived inflation, experienced reduced production due to the cold wave in January followed by frequent rainfall in February. Onions are seeing price increases as the stock of 2023 harvest decreases ahead of the main harvest of new onions starting in late March. MAFRA views the stable supply of 2024 spring open-field vegetables as critically important for the prompt stabilization of supply and demand.

According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute (Agricultural Outlook Center), the cultivation area for spring open-field vegetables this year is expected to be generally similar to or slightly less than the average year. While the cultivation area for cabbage, which had high prices last year, has increased significantly, winter production has decreased, and delayed sowing due to frequent rainfall in February may cause temporary supply shortages.

The Korea Meteorological Administration forecasts that spring temperatures (March to May) this year will be similar to or higher than average, which is expected to positively affect the growth of open-field vegetables. In fact, the condition of major open-field vegetables such as early onions and spring cabbage grown in facilities is currently favorable. However, some regions have experienced poor growth due to frequent rainfall and insufficient sunlight in February, and precipitation in April and May is expected to be similar to or higher than average nationwide, necessitating proactive pest and disease management going forward.

At the Open-field Vegetable Growth Management Council meeting, MAFRA and the Korea Rural Economic Institute shared the current supply and demand status of open-field vegetables and intentions for spring cultivation. The Rural Development Administration reported on growth management and technical guidance, while NongHyup Economic Holdings and producing area NongHyup cooperatives shared information on crop conditions and the supply status of agricultural materials such as pesticides and fertilizers. They discussed inter-agency collaboration tasks necessary for managing spring open-field vegetable growth.

At the meeting, Park Soon-yeon, Director of Distribution and Consumption Policy at MAFRA, urged, "Given the severe situation of agricultural product prices, the public and private sectors must cooperate to thoroughly manage spring open-field vegetable growth so that the public can consume fresh domestic vegetables at reasonable prices during the spring season."

The Open-field Vegetable Growth Management Council has established subcommittees for leafy root vegetables and seasoning vegetables to strengthen inspections until mid-June and to immediately support necessary measures for growth recovery, such as pest and disease control if outbreaks occur.

Additionally, since simultaneous increases in winter stored vegetable losses and delays in spring vegetable shipments may cause temporary supply-demand imbalances, the government plans to fully utilize available measures such as releasing government stockpiles and providing early shipment incentives for spring crops.

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