Heavy rains trigger worries about further crop price hikes

A scarecrow stands above a submerged farm in Nonsan, South Chungcheong, on Sunday. [NEWS1]

Last week's unprecedented heavy downpours damaged nearly 30,000 hectares of farmland, sparking fears of additional price hikes for agricultural products that have already soared due to a heatwave.

A total of 27,085 hectares, equivalent to 38,000 football fields, were flooded and damaged by windfall between July 10 and Monday, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Last week’s devastation outpaced last year’s total flood and storm damage of 4,441 hectares by six times.

By region, North Jeolla saw 14,570 hectares of farmland ruined, followed by 7,833 hectares in South Chungcheong, 1,802 hectares in North Chungcheong, 1,637 hectares in North Gyeongsang and 1,196 hectares in South Jelloa.

The crops that suffered the most damage were rice and beans. Meanwhile, 19 hectares of farm installations, including livestock barns and greenhouses, were wrecked and more than 530,000 chickens, 43,000 ducks and 3,000 pigs were killed.

The extent of the damage is expected to grow. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, an additional 100 to 200 millimeters (3.94 to 7.87 inches) of rain will inundate the Chungcheong regions through Wednesday with precipitation in some regions reaching 300 millimeters.

“The damaged areas can total tens of thousands of hectares as the heavy rain that was concentrated over the Chungcheong, North Jeolla and North Gyeongsang regions move southward,” Food Minister Chung Hwang-keun said during an emergency meeting Saturday.

Farmland losses could further increase food prices that have already surged amid record heatwaves.

The wholesale price of 4 kilograms (8.82 pounds) of spinach was 45,620 won ($36.2) last month, up 180.6 percent from the previous month, according to the Korea Agricultural Marketing Information Service. Red lettuce prices rose by 114.8 percent, green lettuce by 91.4 percent, winter cabbage by 54.7 percent, spring cabbage by 37.2 percent, zucchini by 33.4 percent, tomatoes by 30.9 percent and radish by 25.9 percent.

The price trend data released by the Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation for the second week of July showed lettuce prices spiked 158 percent on month, alongside radish, onions, leeks and sweet potatoes.

“Shipments of crops such as lettuce could shrink drastically due to heavy rains over major production districts,” Seoul’s food corporation said in the report.

Farm produce prices typically rise during the summer monsoon season in Korea because retaining quality in crops becomes challenging with less sunlight.

“The impact from a flood can be minimized if floodwaters subside rapidly and nutritional agents are fed,” a Food Ministry spokesperson told the JoongAng Ilbo. “But the repercussions will inevitably increase if torrential rains pour over a wide region for a long period of time.”

More factors, including autumn typhoons and high Chuseok consumer demand, could contribute to the seasonal increase for agricultural products after the rain subsides.

“Consumer prices are expected to stabilize in general, but typhoons and heatwaves in August could hamper crop supply and demand, followed by Chuseok in September,” Economy and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said during a press briefing on the economic policy for the second half of this year held at the government complex in Seoul on July 4.

Holiday cheer could pump up prices temporarily, he added.

BY NA SANG-HYUN [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]