Minister Song Miryung: "No Supply Issues Expected for Kimjang Cabbage"

Meeting with the Press Corps on the 14th

Song Mi-ryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, announced on the 14th that "there will be no problems with the supply and demand of napa cabbage during the kimchi-making season."

Minister Song said at the government Sejong complex on the same day, "We are monitoring the growth and supply situation of napa cabbage for kimchi-making daily," adding this statement.

Song Miryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. (File photo)

Minister Song explained, "Starting tomorrow (the 15th), a considerable amount of napa cabbage will begin to be shipped," and added, "Although the rain may cause some difficulties in the shipping process, as the supply increases, napa cabbage prices are expected to decrease from this week."

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is also planning to announce additional measures soon to stabilize rice prices. Minister Song said, "According to the recent estimated rice production announced by Statistics Korea, the supply is expected to exceed demand by about 128,000 tons," and added, "We have decided to isolate 100,000 tons, so the excess amount is about 28,000 tons, and we will finalize and announce measures regarding this tomorrow (the 15th) afternoon."

Minister Song also intends to prepare fundamental measures to stabilize rice supply and demand. He explained, "We are reviewing fundamental plans to stabilize rice supply beyond the current method of isolating based on supply and demand each time," adding, "The strategy will include reducing rice cultivation areas, improving quality through rice grading systems, and expanding consumption of rice processed foods, including alcohol."

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is also considering support for pear farmers who suffered from sunburn damage due to the heatwave. Minister Song said, "We are inspecting sunburn damage in major pear production areas," and added, "Since sunburn damage is caused by the heatwave and is not the farmers' fault, just as brown planthopper damage was recognized as a disaster, we are reviewing disaster insurance support for pear sunburn damage and plan to reach a conclusion soon."

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