Lotte raises the factory prices of its soju brand

Lotte Liquor said yesterday it has decided to raise the factory prices of its popular soju product Chum Churum, which translates in English to “like the first time,” by an average of 8.8 percent from tomorrow.

As the move comes just one month after its rival HiteJinro raised the factory price of its soju products by an average of 8.19 percent, the industry is paying attention to whether other liquor manufacturers will also roll out similar price hikes.

HiteJinro raised the factory prices of its soju products including its famous Chamisul on Dec. 22, shortly after the presidential election. It is the first time since 2009 that Lotte has raised its soju prices.

A spokesperson for Lotte said the price hike was long overdue as raw material prices and packaging and logistics costs have been rising over the last four years.

The factory price of a 360-milliliter bottle of Lotte’s flagship product Soft Chum Churum will be 946 won ($0.90), up 8.87 percent. The factory price of a 1.8-liter (0.46-gallon) plastic bottle of Soft Chum Churum will climb to 3,495.7 won from 3,266.5 won.

The factory price of a 360-milliliter bottle of 20 percent proof Dark Chum Churum will go up 8.14 percent from 889 won.

The increase rate of Chum Churum is 0.68 percentage point higher than that of HiteJinro’s Chamisul.

Due to this price hike, the difference in the prices of the two products, Lotte’s 360-milliliter bottle of Chum Churum and Hite Jinro’s 360-milliliter bottle of Chamisul, has narrowed to 15.7 won from 20 won.

By Kim Jung-yoon [kjy@joongang.co.kr]