Producer prices in Korea rose in July as vegetable crops suffered from extreme weather conditions. According to the Bank of Korea, the producer price index for July was 120.20 (2020=100), up 0.4% from the previous month, continuing its upward trend.
Agricultural, forestry, and fishery products rose by 5.6%, with agricultural products up 8.9%. This marked the largest increase in nearly two years, since August 2023. The Bank of Korea noted that poor crop performance was the result of both heat waves and heavy rainfall.
Among specific vegetables, spinach recorded the sharpest increase, rising by 171.6%. Cabbage prices also climbed by 51.7%.
Lee Moon-hee, head of the price statistics team at the Bank of Korea, stated, "Vegetable crops were poor last month due to heat waves and heavy rains."
He added that the impact of government consumer coupons distributed at the end of July has yet to be fully identified, noting, "While expectations of increased demand may have had some effect, it's still statistically difficult to distinguish."
Source: BusinessKorea
