Fruit prices rise 40% in a year… Widest width in only 40 months
Due to a poor harvest, apples fell by 89% and pears by 76% compared to last year.
The upward trend in fruit prices continues unabated, with the price of apples in the Jeju region nearly doubling last month compared to a year ago. Last month, fruit prices rose by more than 40% in a year, the biggest jump in 40 months.
Accordingly, prices in the Jeju region rebounded for the first time in four months due to rising shopping cart prices, mainly for fruit.
According to the ‘February Consumer Price Trends’ published by the Jeju office of Statistics Korea on the 2nd, the consumer price index in Jeju last month was 113.7 (2020 = 100), up 2.4% from a year ago.
The increase increased by 0.3 percentage points (p) compared to January (2.1%) and rebounded for the first time in four months since October last year (3.0%). It was 0.7%c below the national inflation rate (3.1%), which rose again to the 3% range after a month.
Jeju prices, which peaked at 7.3% in July 2022, fell to a low of 1% in June and July last year, then rebounded to 3% in October as agricultural prices and international oil prices showed unstable trends, but later, as international oil prices stabilize, they fall to a minimum of 1% It has been maintained at the 2% level for four months since February.
The main culprit driving up prices last month was agricultural products such as fruit and vegetables.
Agricultural products jumped 18.1% from a year ago, and the upward trend in agricultural prices has continued for a year since February last year.
The item with the most notable increase in price is, of course, fruit. Apple prices rose 89.8% compared to a year ago, and pear and tangerine prices also rose 76.9% and 51.7%, respectively. Compared to a month ago, pears and tangerines became more expensive by 25.2% and 29.8%, respectively.
The main reason for the surge in fruit prices is the drop in production last year due to poor harvests due to cold spring weather and the rainy summer season.
The industry believes that, in the case of apples that cannot be imported, it will be difficult to stabilize prices until the harvest season. Accordingly, the price of fresh food, which includes 55 items such as fruit, vegetables and seafood, rose by 16.9% compared to a year ago, the biggest jump in over 3 years since April 2021 (17.5% ).
Looking at fresh fruit (18 items) alone, it rose 40.8%, recording the biggest increase in 3 years and 4 months since October 2020 (44.5%).
Oil prices are also volatile due to the increase in international oil prices. The decrease in petroleum prices last month was 0.7%, a decrease from the previous month (-6.1%).
Diesel prices fell 3.2% from a year ago, but gasoline prices rose 2.4%. Compared to a month ago, gasoline and diesel prices increased by 4.9% and 5.8%, respectively.
Jinju-ri reporter
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