Rising prices due to rotten fruit and vegetables make ordinary people “sick at heart” this summer

On July 18, a citizen chooses vegetables at Yeongcheon Market in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Yonhap News

“Everything has gone up. Cucumbers are so expensive; I can’t pickle them.”

Gim Hyeon-ju, who runs a dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken) restaurant in Incheon said, as she let out a heavy sigh on July 18. The record-breaking downpour has pushed up prices of vegetables including green onions, lettuce and cucumbers.

Gim was even more worried, since she had already seen poultry prices go up in the first half of this year. She said, “It’s so bad that our supplier at the agricultural market told me to go get my green onions from the large supermarkets since prices had jumped so high.”

A bunch of green onions she bought at a major retailer for 2,980 won was traded at up to 3,900 won depending on the quality at the agricultural market. The prices at the market fluctuate daily according to the situation on the farms, while large supermarkets sell products they have already stocked up, so there can be price differences depending on the situation. But it’s only a matter of time before supermarket prices rise as well. Already in local grocery stores, a bunch of spinach cost 6,000-7,000 won and a single cucumber was sold at 1,000 won.

Gim complained, “The economy is slow, and prices just go up. They never come down!” and said, “The price of vegetables goes up every year when we have a lot of rain, but this year, it’s particularly tough.”

Heavy rains poured down on agricultural regions, affecting the price of a homemade meal. A heatwave is set to hit the nation again following the monsoon downpour, and there is always the possibility of a typhoon sweeping the nation. So prices are expected to continue rising for some time. This is likely to interfere with the government’s plan to stabilize prices.

According to the agricultural distribution information from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation on Tuesday, the wholesale price of 4kg of top-quality spinach was 54,840 won, up 219.4% from the price a month ago: 17,170 won. The price of spinach jumped more than 50% in a week and was over twice more expensive than that of the average year (24,439 won). The wholesale price of 4kg of top-grade red leaf lettuce was also 59,720 won, up 208.7% from a month ago: 19,345 won. During the same period, the prices of baby napa cabbages and dadagi cucumbers soared by 133.6% and 85.1% respectively.

Gochang, Jeollabuk-do; Nonsan, Chungcheongnam-do; and Yecheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do, regions that produce summer fruit such as watermelons and peaches were flood by the latest rain, so it is obvious that prices will jump. Consumer prices had already been rising for some time, and now with rainfall already exceeding that of the average year, the price of agricultural products have begun rocking. What’s more, a line of factors that can push prices up further, such as the heatwave following the rains, typhoons and the Chuseok holiday in September is approaching.

Shin, who supplies groceries to restaurants said, “We should expect the price of vegetables to keep climbing for a while,” and explained, “Napa cabbages absorb a lot of water during the monsoon and then collapse under the scorching sun, so prices are bound to climb.”

He continued and said, “Since we still have over a month left until Chuseok, we’ll have to see if the impact will last until then.” He said the price of fruit could suffer a bigger blow than that of vegetables if a typhoon hits the nation. People are already voicing concerns of the rising cost of kimchi making. Shin said, “There is still time until they start sowing vegetables harvested in time for the kimchi-making season, so it’s not really linked to the current situation.”