McDonald's serving tomato-less burgers after heat wave decimates crops

Due to rising vegetable prices and supply issues from the summer heat, Korean fast food chains are dropping tomatoes from burgers and mixing lettuce with cabbage.

A notice at a supermarket in Seoul limits consumers to three heads of napa cabbage each. [YONHAP]

The scorching summer of 2024 drove vegetable prices through the roof, and desperate times call for desperate measures — including, for Korea's fast food chains, burgers without their signature garnish.

McDonald’s Korea announced Tuesday that it would remove tomato from some of its hamburger lineups — compensating impacted consumers with a free drink coupon — after having difficulty securing the vegetable.

Some Lotteria branches have begun mixing cabbage and lettuce into their burgers for the same reason.

“There were decreases in the quality of some vegetables due to the abnormal temperature this year,” said a spokesperson for Lotte GRS, which runs Lotteria. “We may mix lettuce with cabbage if there is a quality issue with the lettuce we have.”

The average consumer prices of some of the most popular vegetables have risen dramatically, according to data the Korea Agricultural Marketing Information Service released Wednesday, due to the summer heat wave followed by heavy rains that continued through mid-September. The month was Korea's hottest on record, with its final heat wave continuing through Sept. 19 — the latest in the year that such a period has ever continued since the country introduced its heat wave warning system in 2008.

Lettuce averaged 2,619 won ($1.91) per 100 grams (0.22 pounds) as of Oct. 15, an on-year increase of 79.8 percent. The average price of tomatoes rose 41.6 percent, spinach by 35.8 percent and sesame leaves by 30.2 percent over the same period.

“The increase in the supply of white radishes and napa cabbage in mid-October will pull the price down compared to September,” a researcher from the Korea Rural Economic Institute said. “But the price will still be above the 2023 level.”

Consumers have also been in search of replacement vegetables, making kimchi using cabbage over the conventional napa cabbage. Demand for cabbage and cucumbers — which can both be made into kimchi — increased 44 percent and 31 percent between Sept. 24 and Oct. 7 on e-commerce platform Gmarket.

“It was cheaper to make kimchi using cabbage, and I could eat it straight away as it didn’t need time to ferment the kimchi,” a consumer surnamed Kim said.

The hot summer also hit fisheries. The supply of blue crab almost halved in September compared to the previous year, from 5,152 tonnes (5,679 tons) to 2707 tonnes, while the price increased by 35.4 percent, from 6,210 to 8410 won per kilogram (2.2 pounds), according to the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives.

“The high water temperature seen at the Yellow Sea was the reason for a decline in blue crab supply,” the federation said.

The government plans to intervene with price stabilization measures. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will look over the production of vegetables and direct the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation provide discounts on pesticides and fertilizers. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will be release its stocked fisheries to stabilize seafood prices and take additional measures to mitigate the impact of high water temperatures.

BY OH SAM-GWON [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]