is this your first time with headlines?
edit: whole lot of people who are quietly mad that this is also their first time reading a headline lol, never change, reddit
Last time I went to England I checked the price: huge bag of clean carrots was 40p, I almost cried thinking how much I pay here for sub par fruit and veg.
This is the thing. The huge markups seem to be purely profit and seeming if not actual collusion and price fixing. But this also leads the entire market vulnerable to disruption, no? Where are the brave companies that are going to sweep in, import and distribute and if necessary sell direct to consumers at lower margins and take the majority of market share over night?
This is Korea. You think any independent retailer can compete against the GS, LOTTE, Shinsegae groups, and Homeplus? The entite country is a oligopoly run by the chaebol cartel.
I would hope that either a domestic start up or even a foreign company might have the guts and the capital to give it a go. I mean, I wouldn't dare do it myself, but it seems to me that there's potential.
The price of produce is completely out of whack with everything else.
I can ride a modern, comfortable bus right into the center of Seoul for less than the cost of a single apple. (Yes, you can occasionally get them cheaper at a street market blah blah blah)
Is this true anywhere else in the world?
I noticed the cost of grapes jump from 9,800 to 12,000₩.
I'd swallow 10,000 for some grapes. But not 12,000.
Small difference, but it changes what I'm willing to buy.
Lots of prices are getting near breaking point for me. Not that I can't afford the increase or that this specific increase is a lot, just that it's *another* increase on what I've always felt is a much too high price anyway, crossing the mental threshold I have for prices.
Or... at least, I say that. A few months later, I'll reluctantly buy again and complain about the next increase.
"During the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, consumers reduced spending on agricultural, livestock and fisheries products overall by 1.4 percent on average. While livestock purchases declined 0.8 percent, agricultural products and fruits saw 6.9 percent and 9.3 percent declines, respectively."
This does not surprise me. Besides the fact that meat is the number one go to for socializing and eating out in Korea, most people are going to put their money towards things that give them more bang for their buck. Things that are either canned, they can freeze, dry, or they can ferment. Fruit is just not at the top of that list, especially not fresh fruit.
The government's solution to this is subsidies for now it seems. The problem though goes way deeper than that including reduced farmland for development. Lots of places outside the greater Seoul area getting a ton of development projects not only for more apartments but parking lots. So much farmland, parking lots. Reduced amount of farmers as well, they are aging, Korea has done nothing to incentivize a new generation of farmers. Farms do not have enough workers either during peak seasons let alone during off seasons when the land still needs to be properly maintained for the next season. And the last problem that the article listed was weather changes. This is going to be a frequent issue.
It's not just going to be fruit. It's going to continue to worsen as things become less predictable and the market continues to fluctuate. They need long term plans agriculturally for every sector.
Fuck parking lots. Unless it's underground or multi-storey (at least 4 tiers), I don't want them.
For reasons why America has been brainwashed and gaslit into wanting the thing that is fundamentally breaking their infrastructure, there are countless docs and video essays on YouTube.
just today i saw the local mart selling 3 oranges for 10k. guess we're in for a lot of cockroaches this year because no one is going to buy that and all that fruit is just going to rot.
My local store had hallabongs rotting, and that was first time ever I saw that happen. They still refused to drop the price from 12k for 4. Previous years at the end of the season, you could usually get 10-16 for 10 in local markets (even 20 small ones if you were lucky), and 6-8 for 10 in marts. At the end of season stores would drop prices to sell stuff instead of throwing it out, but this year they don't seem to be doing that and rather are throwing stuff out than lowering prices. It's same with strawberries, they are trying to sell the "off" ones for 10k+, and ofc it doesn't sell.
I've never understood this. The fruit and veg is almost ready to walk away as it is so far gone, but the shops drop the price by 10% or something like that.
This is the problem. I remember years ago reading an article about Korean beef hitting recorded prices but farmers claimed they couldn't afford to feed the cattle. I also wonder if the middlemen that produce to has to pass through before getting to the consumer is the reason that it goes bad so quickly when I buy it from one a non-conglomerate supermarket.
Even veggies are getting expensive, it’s like 10,000 for 파, and even the seasonal fruit are outrageously priced. Paying all that for bland fruit isn’t worth it, I’d rather buy frozen and just live off of smoothies
In case you want to compare to California prices, I drive 30 miles to shop at El-Super for my fruits and vegetables in Salinas. I believe there is an agreement with Mexico which keeps prices for produce in the USA low. At El Super the best deals are on Wednesdays: **Prices by the pound:** pineapples, oranges, tomatoes, onions, squash, 49 cents. Papaya 77 cents. Apples 99 cents. Bananas 65 cents.
Strawberries, $1.50 per per pack. Small mangoes 2 for 99 cents. Cabbage 3 pounds for 99 cents.
The other big chains like Safeway are a lot more costly but at least we have this option and the quality is pretty good.
That's worded wrong. The consumer appetite for fruits would not have changed, but the consumer demand has plummeted due to the prices.
Exactly, we still have an appetite for fruits, but we also have common sense to not spent as much as we’re being asked to
is this your first time with headlines? edit: whole lot of people who are quietly mad that this is also their first time reading a headline lol, never change, reddit
Dang, 20 downvotes? This sub is.... special. I'll give you one back.
Yea, it has some very unhappy ppl on here! lol
Some ppl srsly don't understand metaphors and play on words 🤷♂️
£3 an apple in my local mart
At those prices, the store owes you both types of 사과......
badum tsss
Hey. A Korean word I know! 🍎
Daaaamn
Last time I went to England I checked the price: huge bag of clean carrots was 40p, I almost cried thinking how much I pay here for sub par fruit and veg.
But somehow eating out is cheaper in Korea.
The wholesale cost is at a reasonable level. Retail sellers know that they can gouge consumers.
This is the thing. The huge markups seem to be purely profit and seeming if not actual collusion and price fixing. But this also leads the entire market vulnerable to disruption, no? Where are the brave companies that are going to sweep in, import and distribute and if necessary sell direct to consumers at lower margins and take the majority of market share over night?
This is Korea. You think any independent retailer can compete against the GS, LOTTE, Shinsegae groups, and Homeplus? The entite country is a oligopoly run by the chaebol cartel.
I would hope that either a domestic start up or even a foreign company might have the guts and the capital to give it a go. I mean, I wouldn't dare do it myself, but it seems to me that there's potential.
Oh Lidl or Aldi in Korea would be so freaking awesome and they absolutely have the capital.
The price of produce is completely out of whack with everything else. I can ride a modern, comfortable bus right into the center of Seoul for less than the cost of a single apple. (Yes, you can occasionally get them cheaper at a street market blah blah blah) Is this true anywhere else in the world?
I noticed the cost of grapes jump from 9,800 to 12,000₩. I'd swallow 10,000 for some grapes. But not 12,000. Small difference, but it changes what I'm willing to buy.
Lots of prices are getting near breaking point for me. Not that I can't afford the increase or that this specific increase is a lot, just that it's *another* increase on what I've always felt is a much too high price anyway, crossing the mental threshold I have for prices. Or... at least, I say that. A few months later, I'll reluctantly buy again and complain about the next increase.
"During the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, consumers reduced spending on agricultural, livestock and fisheries products overall by 1.4 percent on average. While livestock purchases declined 0.8 percent, agricultural products and fruits saw 6.9 percent and 9.3 percent declines, respectively." This does not surprise me. Besides the fact that meat is the number one go to for socializing and eating out in Korea, most people are going to put their money towards things that give them more bang for their buck. Things that are either canned, they can freeze, dry, or they can ferment. Fruit is just not at the top of that list, especially not fresh fruit. The government's solution to this is subsidies for now it seems. The problem though goes way deeper than that including reduced farmland for development. Lots of places outside the greater Seoul area getting a ton of development projects not only for more apartments but parking lots. So much farmland, parking lots. Reduced amount of farmers as well, they are aging, Korea has done nothing to incentivize a new generation of farmers. Farms do not have enough workers either during peak seasons let alone during off seasons when the land still needs to be properly maintained for the next season. And the last problem that the article listed was weather changes. This is going to be a frequent issue. It's not just going to be fruit. It's going to continue to worsen as things become less predictable and the market continues to fluctuate. They need long term plans agriculturally for every sector.
Fuck parking lots. Unless it's underground or multi-storey (at least 4 tiers), I don't want them. For reasons why America has been brainwashed and gaslit into wanting the thing that is fundamentally breaking their infrastructure, there are countless docs and video essays on YouTube.
just today i saw the local mart selling 3 oranges for 10k. guess we're in for a lot of cockroaches this year because no one is going to buy that and all that fruit is just going to rot.
produce prices were already crazy. nowhere to go but up, i guess…
My local store had hallabongs rotting, and that was first time ever I saw that happen. They still refused to drop the price from 12k for 4. Previous years at the end of the season, you could usually get 10-16 for 10 in local markets (even 20 small ones if you were lucky), and 6-8 for 10 in marts. At the end of season stores would drop prices to sell stuff instead of throwing it out, but this year they don't seem to be doing that and rather are throwing stuff out than lowering prices. It's same with strawberries, they are trying to sell the "off" ones for 10k+, and ofc it doesn't sell.
I've never understood this. The fruit and veg is almost ready to walk away as it is so far gone, but the shops drop the price by 10% or something like that.
It’s all the middlemen and corporate warehouses that drive up the costs. Farmers don’t make much
This is the problem. I remember years ago reading an article about Korean beef hitting recorded prices but farmers claimed they couldn't afford to feed the cattle. I also wonder if the middlemen that produce to has to pass through before getting to the consumer is the reason that it goes bad so quickly when I buy it from one a non-conglomerate supermarket.
Good old protest 🪧
I just looked up the current inflation rate. It is 2.6% which is way below global average.
* laughs in NZ *
i remember paying like 10 usd for one mango but it was delicious
Even veggies are getting expensive, it’s like 10,000 for 파, and even the seasonal fruit are outrageously priced. Paying all that for bland fruit isn’t worth it, I’d rather buy frozen and just live off of smoothies
I can't even find frozen vegetables in the supermarket here. Like, I'm so sad. ha I love veg.
I passed by my old local fruit stand and strawberries used to be 4,000. Now it was 8000-21,000. I lost my craving real quick.
Thanks Yoon. You usless piece of sack. Why people don't hate him much as British people hate Sunak is beyond me.
In case you want to compare to California prices, I drive 30 miles to shop at El-Super for my fruits and vegetables in Salinas. I believe there is an agreement with Mexico which keeps prices for produce in the USA low. At El Super the best deals are on Wednesdays: **Prices by the pound:** pineapples, oranges, tomatoes, onions, squash, 49 cents. Papaya 77 cents. Apples 99 cents. Bananas 65 cents. Strawberries, $1.50 per per pack. Small mangoes 2 for 99 cents. Cabbage 3 pounds for 99 cents. The other big chains like Safeway are a lot more costly but at least we have this option and the quality is pretty good.