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Food prices leap as New Year looms

Published: 25 Jan. 2010, 21:05

The Lunar New Year is traditionally a season for gluttony, but according to food price data released yesterday, three weeks before the holiday, people might be less able to afford the traditional feasts this year.

The Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation, which is under the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, surveyed the prices of 19 foods served as sacrifices in the ancestral ritual that marks the New Year festival.

Five of the country’s well-known outdoor traditional markets and 26 large discount stores in eight cities were surveyed.

The company said the survey showed that fruits, vegetables, fish and meats were 21 percent pricier than they were during the same period a year ago.

The price surge, compared to the 2.8 percent average consumer price growth last year from a year earlier, was due in part to a decrease in supply caused by bad weather, including the record-high snowfall on Jan. 4, the company said.

“The growth of spinach, cabbage and radishes was affected by recent cold spells and snowfalls,” the company said in a statement. “Low water temperatures also hindered the fishing for pollack and croaker.”

The increase in the price of beef, as a result of the expansion of the traceability system, a cost-raising factor, also significantly contributed to the overall food-price growth, the company said. Beef was priced at 35,590 won ($31) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) on average, up 19.1 percent from 27,787 won last year.

But those who don’t want to skimp can take heart. Foods at traditional markets were 37 percent cheaper than those at large discount stores, the survey showed.

By Moon Gwang-lip [[email protected]]