"The taste is very good," Chinese kimchi becomes the star on Korean tables!

On June 9, a South Korean media "The Herald Economy" published an article saying, "Cabbage prices are too high, so we can only use Chinese-made kimchi. Recently, the taste of Chinese-made kimchi is very good, and it's hard to find complaining customers."

This is what a restaurant owner in South Korea said. Due to the sharp increase in the price of cabbage in South Korea, the price of the essential food on the Korean table - kimchi - has also skyrocketed.

Therefore, more and more South Korean restaurants began to look for Chinese kimchi, which even appeared on the dining tables of ordinary South Korean families.

Chinese kimchi is mainly used in restaurants rather than households. However, recently, through online platforms and TV shopping, it is rapidly entering household demand.

The Korea Customs Service revealed that the import value of kimchi reached $47.56 million in the first quarter this year, up 16.7% from the same period last year ($47.50 million).

Last year, South Korea's kimchi imports hit a record high. However, if the import trend in the first quarter of this year continues long-term, the volume of kimchi imports is expected to exceed last year's level.

The reason is simple. This is due to the rise in raw material cabbage prices.

Last year's high temperatures in autumn and cold waves in winter in South Korea led to poor winter cabbage harvests, and the summer cabbage in high-altitude areas also had poor yields due to rare high temperatures, exacerbating supply-demand imbalance. This is why reliance on imports necessarily increased.

As the price of the main dish on the table - kimchi - rises, the burden on consumers is becoming heavier.

More and more South Korean restaurants are completely abandoning domestic kimchi and switching to Chinese kimchi.

Mr. Kim, who operates a restaurant in Deokjin-gu, Jeonju City, said, "Chinese kimchi costs about 15,000 won per 10 kilograms (about 78 yuan RMB), while the price of domestic kimchi is 2-3 times higher. Because of the high cost, it is difficult to use domestic kimchi."

The improvement in the quality of Chinese kimchi is also considered one of the reasons why people refuse domestic kimchi.

Mrs. Lee, another restaurant owner, said, "Chinese kimchi is also managed under HACCP (food safety management certification standards) like domestic kimchi, tastes great, and is affordable, so many restaurants are using Chinese-made kimchi."

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834453226451968/

Disclaimer: The article solely represents the author's personal views.