Series of strawberry thefts occur as price rises

Mr. A, a farmer, who is growing strawberries at a farm in Gangjin-gun, South Jeolla Province, visited his farm in the morning on January 17 and witnessed an absurd scene. Someone had stolen dozens of boxes of strawberries that were about to be harvested overnight. "I've been farming strawberries for decades, but I've never experienced anything like this before," he said.

Farmers across the country have been suffering from a spate of thefts of strawberries that have recently become very expensive. Gangjin-gun said on January 21, "We are preparing emergency measures as strawberry thefts occurred at local farms." In the local area, strawberries disappeared from another farm in a nearby village on the day A's strawberries were stolen.

Gangjin-gun estimates that more than 50 boxes of strawberries weighing 2 kilograms were stolen from the two farms, costing more than 2 million won. At another nearby farm, someone stole kerosene for house heating worth more than 1.2 million won. Notably, the thieves picked the strawberries themselves, but the stems remained intact. An official at Gangjin-gun district office said, "You have to be quite good at harvesting to make sure the stems don't break. The fact that they also stole heating oil suggests that they are professional thieves.” When the thefts occurred at three farms at once, the district office asked the Gangjin Police Station to increase patrols.

Police are also investigating the theft of strawberries that were about to be shipped in In Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. From December 31 last year to January 1 this year, 1,900 kilograms of strawberries went missing from 11 farms in Gimhae. A total of eight farms were affected, and the amount of damage is estimated to be around 25 million won.

The recent spate of thefts is believed to be caused by a surge in strawberry prices. According to the data released by the Korea Rural Economic Institute, the trading price of strawberries at Garak Wholesale Market in Seoul was 37,740 won per a 2-kilogram box on December 31 last year, up more than 30 percent (9,679 won) compared to the average year (28,061 won). The price continued to rise and recorded 41,300 won for a 2-kilogram box on the 20th. It is 34 percent (14,222 won) higher than the average year (27,078 won).

Kang Jin-won, governor of Gangjin-gun, said, "We will come up with measures, including the installation of CCTVs, to prevent farmers from having their agricultural products stolen in vain."

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.