With Oyster Prices Surging... Lotte Mart Boosts New-Season Oyster Supply and Offers 35% Off

Oyster prices surge as high water temperatures cause mass die-offs in Japan
Discounts available through Nov. 11

Lotte Mart said on Nov. 5 that it will offer discounts of up to 35% on all new-season oyster products through Nov. 11. With domestic oyster prices surging as Japan increased its purchases of Korean oysters, the company decided to release stock secured through advance contracts. The volume prepared is about 1.5 times last year's.

The crop of one-year-old new-season oysters grown off the southern coast was good this year. However, mass oyster die-offs caused by high water temperatures in Japanese production areas also affected domestic supply. As Japanese distributors increased their purchases of Korean oysters, less stock was available in Korea. Wolha oysters, two-year-old oysters that had helped make up for the shortfall early in the shipping season, were also in short supply. According to auction prices at the Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market, the average price of shucked oysters last month was around 13,800 won per kilogram, up 30.5% from the same month last year.

Lee Yanggyu, a merchandise planner (MD) on the seafood team at Lotte Mart and Lotte Super, promotes freshly harvested oysters at Lotte Mart Zettaplex Jamsil in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Courtesy of Lotte Mart.

Lotte Mart completed advance contracts two months before market prices began to rise. It secured supplies and lowered purchasing costs by expanding its supplier network to major production areas, including Tongyeong and Geoje in South Gyeongsang Province and Goseong in Gangwon Province.

The discount is part of the second week of the "Mega Tongkeun" promotion. After an additional 20% discount under the "Seafood Festival" for L.POINT members, fresh oysters are priced at 1,912 won per 100 grams, while a 400-gram bag of large-pack oysters costs 7,920 won. Starting in mid-November, the company will also introduce "temperature-sensitive packaging," which changes color depending on the storage temperature. If the temperature goes outside the recommended range, the packaging changes color, allowing customers to check in-store whether the product has been kept at the proper temperature.

Lotte Mart has also begun preparing for high water temperatures. Its partners are operating a real-time monitoring system, receiving water-temperature monitoring information and high-temperature alerts from local governments, fisheries cooperatives, and the National Institute of Fisheries Science. Some partners are also piloting a method of lowering the ropes used to cultivate oysters deeper into the water to avoid the warmer surface layer. The company plans to expand the practice in earnest next year to establish a stable foundation for shipments.

Lee Yanggyu, a product manager (MD) on the seafood team at Lotte Mart and Super, said, "Oyster supply is becoming unstable due to extreme weather, and market prices are surging. However, we secured supplies in advance by working with production areas such as Tongyeong and Geoje. As the peak kimchi-making season and year-end period approach, we have prepared so customers can enjoy fresh, in-season new-season oysters without the burden of high prices."

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