Preparing for Summer Cabbage and Radish Supply Instability... Ministry of Agriculture to Advance Purchases and Expand Reserves

Measures to Stabilize Cabbage, Radish, and Onion Supply

Preparing for Declining Cultivation Areas

Maximizing Available Government Stock

The government has decided to move up the timing of its purchase and reserve of cabbage and radish, and to expand reserve volumes in preparation for the recurring summer supply instability. The plan is to maximize available government stock and supply it to wholesale markets and kimchi producers during periods of shortage.

On May 12, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that, together with related agencies, it will implement these proactive supply stabilization measures to prepare for possible shortages caused by early monsoon and abnormal high temperatures expected after June.

According to the Ministry, as of May, shipments of cabbage and radish have increased by 26% and 4%, respectively, compared to average years, thanks to ample winter storage and favorable spring yields. As a result, prices remain lower than in previous years and the average. The Ministry believes that the supply will remain sufficient until June, when shipments of spring crops end.

The issue is the summer supply. Highland cabbage and radish, which are mainly shipped from July onward, face declining cultivation intentions due to increasingly frequent abnormal summer weather conditions (such as heatwaves and heavy rains) and rising pest and disease outbreaks. This year’s cultivation area is also expected to decrease compared to previous years and the average. In fact, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), the retail price of a head of cabbage, which stood at 3,711 won on June 30 last year, continued to rise and surpassed 7,000 won by mid-August.

To address this, the Ministry will move up the government purchase and reserve period for spring cabbage and radish, whose supply has currently increased, from May to April—over a month earlier than before—and expand the reserve volume by more than 15% compared to last year, in order to maximize available government stock.

In addition, to efficiently control major pests and diseases such as cabbage cyst nematode, which are increasingly affecting the highland areas of Gangwon Province each summer, the Ministry has decided to implement official pest control orders and supply pesticides more than a month earlier than last year. Through the 'Agricultural Product Stable Production and Supply Support Project,' which is being implemented for the first time this year, support for pesticides, farming materials, and water supply to farms will be expanded to prepare for production declines due to abnormal weather such as heatwaves and droughts.

As for onions, thanks to favorable yields and increased shipments of early-maturing 2026 crops since March, this month's wholesale price is 47.4% lower and the retail price 14.6% lower than the average for this period. However, according to projections from the Korea Rural Economic Institute, the cultivation area for mid-to-late-maturing onions (shipped from early to mid-June) to be supplied to the market from June through next year is expected to decrease.

To address the oversupply of early-maturing onions, the Ministry has implemented a shipment suspension (15,000 tons) from early May. For mid-maturing onions with good storability, to prevent a glut caused by overlapping shipment periods with early-maturing onions, the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NongHyup) will purchase and store 5,000 tons and supply them after June to prevent supply instability caused by shortages. In addition, to secure available government stock, the Ministry plans to announce the purchase plan for late-maturing onions earlier than usual, with a preliminary announcement (about 10,000 tons) scheduled by the end of May.

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