People hesitate to buy fruits as price soars as high as that of meat

People look at fruit stands at Moran Folk Oil Market in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on Jan. 4, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. The prices of apples, pears, tangerines and persimmons surged 56.8 percent, 41.2 percent, 39.8 percent and 39.7 percent year-on-year in January, respectively, according to Statistics Korea\'s National Statistics Portal. Moon Jae-won

"Come and have a look at a big apple. I’ll sell it at cost."

"The apple looks good but...."

Bargaining between merchants and customers was in full swing ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday at a fruit market in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, in the afternoon on February 4. The merchant held a box of apples worth 45,000 won to those who stopped walking. After looking at the box for a while, the old couple touched it a few times before turning away.

Unlike dried fish and grocery markets, which were crowded for the weekend, the fruit market was relatively quiet. The merchants in the fruit market were either arranging fruits in baskets or looking at their smartphones.

Ms. Kim, 69, who visited the market to buy fruit with her husband, said, "I think the price of agricultural products has doubled from a year ago. When I went to a large discount store the other day, I was surprised to see that the smallest apple cost 3,000 won,” adding, "There is nothing inexpensive, including persimmons and apples, maybe because of the bad harvest. So, I've decided not to set a table for ancestral rites this year.”

People are worried about preparing a table for ancestral rites on the upcoming Lunar New Year as prices have soared over the last year. In particular, the prices of apples and pears, which are mainly placed on the memorial service table, jumped by 50 percent compared to the previous year. People seemed to buy goods by the piece or turn their eyes to cheaper ones.

Choi, 57, who visited the fruit market, said, "I came to buy tangerines, apples, and Hallabong for ancestral rites, but I haven't bought anything yet because the price is too high. Last year, I bought a box of apples for 25,000 won, but now the cheapest one is 45,000 won.” She sighed and added, "The prices of seafood and meat have gone up less, but I can’t change the usual menu for ancestral rites. I'm going to buy less or look around the market a little more for cheaper products."

Consumers at large discount stores responded similarly.

"Apples are too expensive, so I was going to buy tangerines, but I couldn’t afford them because they also cost more than 20,000 won a box,” said Ms. Moon, 59, who visited a supermarket in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul the previous day. "I think the total cost of the table will be about 1.5 times more than that of last year,” she added.

On social network sites, people also expressed their surprise at the rising prices of fruit. "My children love fruit, but the prices have gone up so much that I can't buy them since last year’s Chuseok holiday. I'm only buying bananas which are less expensive,” said a user on Naver's Cafe. Others said, "I thought it was the price of meat when I saw the price of fruit," "I looked for a meal kit to put on the table for ancestral rites for the first time this year," "I should look for chopped fruits on a cup or ugly fruits without commercial value.”

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