"Lettuce prices have become so high that we have decided to stop providing ssam (leaf wrap) vegetables. Especially in July and August, the quality of vegetables drops due to the hot weather, yet prices actually go up," said a restaurant owner, identified as A, who runs a beef specialty restaurant near Gangnam Station, with a bitter smile around 4:00 p.m. on July 14.

On the same day, President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered a reform of the agricultural distribution structure during a cabinet meeting, stating, "There is too large a gap between market prices and prices at local production sites, and while producer prices fluctuate wildly, consumer prices only continue to rise."

Farmers who gathered for the "July 7 National Farmers' Rally" in front of the Dongwha Duty Free shop in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on July 7, sold agricultural products such as onions, oriental melons, and cabbage at local shipment prices to highlight the reality they face.

They also staged a "surrender of collapsed-price agricultural products" protest, placing produce on the road, claiming they were forced to plow their fields to make their reality and grievances known.

According to the "Farmers' Way with the People," the gap between urban consumer prices and the prices received by farmers is significant.

In the case of onions, which have a relatively smaller gap, the price received by farmers is 650 won per 1 kg, while the consumer price is 1,700 won, a 2.6-fold difference.

For eggplants, which show the most severe disparity, the price difference was as high as 7 times.

Farmers argue that the government only forces sacrifices upon them by importing agricultural products whenever prices rise slightly and artificially lowering prices through discount events.

On the other hand, restaurant owners and consumers complain that the burden of food costs and operating expenses has increased further due to overlapping weather variables such as heatwaves and the rainy season.

Restaurant owners are facing a double whammy: they cannot easily raise menu prices due to the prolonged high inflation and the burden on consumers, even as food ingredient costs rise.

Owner B of a grilled meat restaurant in Gangnam expressed his difficulties, saying, "In the summer, the price of ssam vegetables like lettuce or chicory rises compared to usual. Fixed costs like electricity bills are also increasing due to air conditioning, but restaurant owners have to bear most of the increased food costs."

Some businesses are responding to the cost burden by reducing the amount of ssam vegetables provided.

An employee, C, at a seasoned pork specialty restaurant said, "In the past, many customers asked for ssam vegetables, but these days, we don't serve much from the start because of the price burden. It is also difficult to provide enough to customers who request more."

The burden felt by consumers at the grocery store was similar.

A person in their 50s, surnamed Yoon, who was met at a nearby food ingredient discount mart, said, "I come all the way to this food ingredient mart to save on food expenses, but the price quickly exceeds 10,000 won after picking up just a few vegetables. I only buy as much lettuce or perilla leaves as I absolutely need, and if it's too expensive, I just give up."

According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) and its Agricultural & Marketing Information Service (KAMIS) today (July 15), the average retail price of 2 kg of Shine Muscat as of the previous day was 36,100 won, which is 52.1% higher than the price sold by intermediate wholesalers (23,740 won).

For 2 kg of grapes, the retail price (29,732 won) was also 39.3% higher than the intermediate wholesale price (21,340 won), indicating that fees generated during intermediate distribution stages are increasing the burden on consumers.

To resolve these issues, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced a plan to improve the agricultural distribution structure in September of last year.

The plan aims to lower the agricultural distribution cost ratio, which soared to 60–70% for items like cabbage and radishes in 2023, by 10% by 2030.

In particular, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs presented a strategy to significantly reduce distribution stages to 1–2 steps by fostering alternative routes for direct delivery from production sites to consumers through the full-scale activation of an online wholesale market for agricultural products.

The goal is to increase the proportion of online transactions, which is currently at the 6% level of total wholesale transactions, to 50% by 2030.

To this end, the ministry removed the entry barrier by eliminating the existing requirement of an annual transaction volume of 2 billion won or more.

An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs explained, "The key is to break the structure where excessive intermediate profits are taken during the intermediate distribution process. We are reforming existing wholesale channels and intensively fostering the online wholesale market as an alternative route."

In fact, achievements are emerging, such as online wholesale market transaction volume exceeding 1 trillion won last year.

This year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has set a goal of reaching 1.5 trillion won in transactions in the online wholesale market for agricultural and marine products.

However, some point out that it is difficult to convert the solid transaction practices and human networks of existing offline wholesale markets to online in a short period.

In addition, there are limitations such as market inefficiencies and overlapping budget waste in the process of the government directly managing and operating the platform, entry barriers for elderly and small-scale farmers who are not familiar with using platforms, and the difficulty of verifying physical quality in advance due to the nature of non-face-to-face transactions.

(Photo: Yonhap News)