By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Gone are the days when Korea's staple dish kimchi was considered the cheapest and most easily accessible food fit for all. With cabbage prices skyrocketing, the famed fermented vegetable is quickly slipping out of people's reach.
Market data showed Tuesday that the price of cabbages, the main ingredient for kimchi, has soared to almost double that of last year at giant hypermarket chains, which are known to offer the best bargains for grocery goods.
A cabbage head cost 1,580 won on average last year, but the price now hovers in the 2,500-won range, according to Shinsegae E-Mart and Lotte Mart, the country's largest discount chains.
At small neighborhood grocery stores, the price is even higher.
Consumers should expect to shell out more than 5,500 won per cabbage head, up from 1,580 won last year, according to the Korea Agricultural Trade Information, a service that offers real time price information for agricultural goods.
So what happens now that the pickled and spiced vegetables, a dish that is served at virtually every meal, is becoming less affordable?
``People are turning to alternative vegetables other than cabbages,'' said Kim Jun-ho, a vegetables merchandiser at Lotte Mart.
He said turnips and young radishes are consumers' next favorite choices.
But the problem, Kim says, is that the sudden surge in demand for these is starting to move their prices up as well.
According to market data, a bunch of radishes currently costs 1,980 won, up 83 percent from last year. The price of turnip has also gone up about 25 percent year-on-year.
Kim said that prices are expected to remain high this year as the supply of cabbages, turnips and radishes have dipped across the board due to a weeks-long drought and unusually high temperatures.
The continuous kimchi inflation is expected to drive up demand for packaged ready-made products, which have already become vastly popular among the younger generation.
Online shopping site G-Market said last week sales of ready-made kimchi purchases hiked almost 20 percent compared to last year, while Interpark saw a 32 percent jump.
``The traditional, laborious work is already burdening housewives, but the higher price tag is adding to the pressure,'' said Kim Jae-woo, a food merchandiser at GS e-Shop, another online retailer that saw a 20-percent jump in kimchi sales in one month.