By Kwon Mee-yoo
Kimchi, probably the representative Korean side dish, has disappeared from many restaurants over the past few months due to soaring napa cabbage prices as a result of a supply shortage.
Many housewives have waited in long lines to buy the vegetable at lower-than market prices at state-funded food stands. To bring down the price here, the government and large retailers have imported cabbages from China
But it will soon change, market watchers said, as cabbage prices have declined to the previous year’s level as farmers have provided more of the vegetable to the market in recent weeks. Now, it is feared that the price may plunge steeply in the run-up to the year’s end as more cabbages are cultivated and sold in time for the kimchi-making season.
The price of the cup-shaped Chinese cabbage dropped to 2,300 won per head at the Nonghyup Hanaro Mart in southern Seoul Friday. It was a significant decline compared to 8,800 won three weeks ago.
Analysts say the price is likely to nosedive in December as winter cabbage will be shipped out.
The National Agricultural Intermediate Wholesaler Federation said the amount of winter napa cabbage patches increased some 15 percent and good weather will yield at least 20 percent more than average.
“In addition to increased local products, cabbage imports from China also jumped from 200 tons in September to 4,000 tons in October,” an official of the federation said.
If the price declines, the cultivation area would also decrease. “The problem is that the price drop would lead to another price hike, causing a vicious circle of see-sawing cabbage prices.”
Consumers were also confused about teeter-tottering cabbage prices.
Kim Ji-won, 28, an office worker, said her family bought three heads of cabbage earlier this month at a local traditional market.
“My mother queued up to get the Chinese cabbage distributed by the city government at low prices. The cabbage price is now back to normal and it is hard to predict the price,” she said.
Experts proposed overhauling the agricultural product distribution system.
“The government should build a system to stabilize prices. This ‘cabbage crisis’ should be seen as a chance to improve the underdeveloped distribution system,” an official of the Korea Rural Economic Institute said.