By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
November is the time of year when the wind blows, leaves start to color and chocolates fly off the shelves. But this year, the third thing isn't likely to happen as the deadly melamine scare convinces consumers to opt for another, safer choice of gift for friends and lovers.
The month has two major chocolate giving days: Pepero Day on the 11th and the college entrance exam on the 13th. Pepero Day is when friends and lovers give the chocolate-covered sticks to each other, while chocolates are given in the run-up to the exam to wish good luck.
Pepero manufacturer Lotte Confectionary typically rakes in about 55 percent of annual sales in November, but this year will probably break that long-running tradition.
That's because the toxic compound melamine, which killed four and left thousands of children in China sick, was found in a Lotte snack earlier this month.
The nation's biggest snack maker, however, isn't the only casualty of the food scandal, as retailers said Friday that chocolate sales plunged across the board, regardless of the maker and brand.
According to Shinsegae E-Mart, the country's No. 1 discount retailer, sales of cacao dropped more than 30 percent this year, compared to a year before. Sales of chips and biscuits also dropped 21 percent.
Lotte Mart, another hypermarket chain, says its chocolate-related products also saw about a 25 percent plunge in sales. And the situation is no different at other marts and convenient stores.
``It is a very unusual situation that snack aisles are so empty during this time of the year,'' said Kim Young-hee, a Lotte Mart spokesman, adding that they only made about half the amount of special gift packages they usually do.
Aside from Korean brands, major names like Snickers and Kit Kat, which are produced in China, were also found to be contaminated.
Kang Jong-ho, spokesman of Haitai Confectionary, a snack manufacturer that also had melamine detected in its products, says it's tough to regain consumer trust, even though it no longer uses imported milk substances from China.
The hazardous substance is an industrial chemical, largely used to produce plastics and glues. But Chinese suppliers added it to watered-down milk to cut costs and make it look high in protein.
Retailers said consumers who've turned away from chocolates are now showing more preference for traditional Korean snacks like ``dduk'' (rice cake) and yut (rock candy).