Imported fruit prices skyrocket as US dollar soars
A customer looks at the price of a box of peaches at a large grocery store in Seoul, Sept. 23. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunA 34-year-old office worker surnamed Kim was surprised to see how expensive bananas have become amid a series of news stories that the soaring U.S. dollar has sharply raised the prices of imported fruit.“I have been purchasing bananas once a week for many years, but I have never seen their price go so high as it is now. It makes me hesitate to grab one when I see how much it costs,” Kim said. The Korean currency ended at 1,441 won per dollar on Oct. 1, hitting a 13-year low against the dollar. This caused the price for a bunch of bananas to increase from the 3,000 won range to 5,480 won at large supermarkets in Seoul last week. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, the wholesale price of imported bananas the day before stood at 31,100 won ($2.08) per 13 kilograms, up 10.2 percent from 28,232 won a month ago. Compared to last year's wholesale price, the price of the fruit jumped 23.3 percent in the same period. In addition to ris
