Chuseok Ancestral Rites Table Costs Return to 300,000 Won Range... "Livestock Prices Rise Due to Heatwave"

After Dropping to 290,000 Won Last Year, Costs Return Above 300,000 Won
Government to Supply 22,000 Tons of Beef and 67,000 Tons of Pork

This summer's heatwave has led to increases in the prices of livestock products and other food items, raising expectations that expenses for Chuseok ancestral rites will also rise.

According to Korea Price Information, a specialized price research institution, on September 6, the cost of preparing a Chuseok ancestral rites table for a family of four at a traditional market was tallied at 302,500 won, up 3,500 won (1.2%) from the previous year. The cost of shopping at a large discount store reached 397,700 won, up 6,350 won (1.6%) year-on-year.

In particular, increases in the prices of chicken and eggs drove up the overall Chuseok table costs. At traditional markets, the price for 1.5 kilograms of chicken was 9,000 won, a 12.5% increase from the previous year. As for eggs, the intense summer heatwave worsened farming conditions, pushing prices higher. A pack of ten eggs cost 3,500 won, marking a 16.7% increase. However, as egg production recovers, farm-gate prices are falling, so consumer prices are expected to decrease over time. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will continue to supply imported fresh eggs up to the Chuseok peak season to help stabilize egg prices.

Among seafood products, Russian pollock fillet, which faced pressure from both rising oil prices and exchange rates, jumped by 30% to 13,000 won compared to a year ago. Among vegetables, radish prices rose by 20%, and zucchini prices by 33.3%.

Conversely, the prices of ▲apples ▲pears ▲dried persimmons ▲jujubes ▲newly harvested rice ▲songpyeon (rice cakes) ▲tofu remained unchanged, while the price of one head of napa cabbage actually fell by 11.1% compared to last year.

At large discount stores, the main items that saw price increases were ▲eggs (20.1%) ▲pork front leg cuts (10.1%) ▲chicken (7.6%) ▲kelp (6.3%) and ▲Russian pollock fillet (5.0%). Although pork prices are still higher than last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs projects that pork prices will gradually stabilize after Chuseok as demand subsides.

Notably, Korean beef (hanwoo), which sees high demand during holidays, experienced a price increase due to a reduction in the number of cattle raised. According to the Agricultural Outlook Center at the Korea Rural Economic Institute, wholesale prices for hanwoo during the Chuseok peak season are forecast to be 24,000 to 25,000 won per kilogram, up 14.3% to 19.0% from last year.

Consumer prices also rose sharply. According to the Livestock Products Quality Assessment Service, as of September 4, the retail price for hanwoo tenderloin was 15,308 won per 100 grams, a 19.9% increase from the same period last year. The price of striploin increased by 22.6%, and brisket, which is mainly used for jangjorim (braised beef), rose by 17.7%, respectively. The sharp drop in hanwoo prices a few years ago led to a sustained reduction in the number of cattle being raised, resulting in a decrease in supply for shipment and slaughter. In addition, rising international grain prices have increased feed costs, which is also considered a factor behind the price hikes. This reduction in the number of cattle available for slaughter is expected to continue for some time.

On the 3rd, Kwon Susang (39), the owner of a Korean beef farm in Sangbuk-myeon, Yangsan-si, Gyeongnam, is spraying water to lower the temperature of the cattle. Photo by Park Hosu

Imported beef, the main alternative, is also seeing price increases. Rising hanwoo prices have shifted demand to relatively less expensive imported beef, but a decrease in U.S. beef export volumes has driven prices up. The price of U.S. chilled chuck eye roll reached 4,019 won per 100 grams, up 20.1% from the same period last year.

The government plans to stabilize prices ahead of the Chuseok peak season by increasing the supply of livestock products. A total of 22,000 tons of beef and a record 67,000 tons of pork will be supplied. The supply of eggs is also set at 4,900 tons, 2.4 times the usual volume.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.