Korean media: Two out of three restaurants in South Korea use Chinese pickled vegetables!
On November 23, the Korean media "Gukmin Daily" published an article stating that Chinese pickled vegetables are continuously expanding in the South Korean catering industry. Although the price of napa cabbage is basically the same as last year, the import volume of pickled vegetables has increased significantly. Of this, 99% comes from China. The price of Chinese pickled vegetables is only half that of locally produced South Korean pickled vegetables, and South Korea's dependence on Chinese pickled vegetables is constantly increasing.
According to the Korea Customs Service, from January to September this year, the import volume of pickled vegetables in South Korea reached 249,102 tons, valued at 143.59 million US dollars, an increase of 12% compared to the previous year. Of this, 99% came from China. The export volume was only 36,505 tons, and the import volume was 6.8 times the export volume, which is astonishing.
Most imported pickled vegetables are consumed by restaurants. According to data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, in 2023, imported pickled vegetables accounted for 36% of the total domestic consumption in South Korea, of which 71.2% were supplied through food raw material distributors. Since most restaurants use this distribution network, a considerable portion of the imported pickled vegetables eventually went to restaurants. Considering the proportion of imported pickled vegetable consumption, it is estimated that two out of every three restaurants use Chinese pickled vegetables. According to the data from the Korea International Trade Association, in 2023, restaurants purchased 178,327 tons of pickled vegetables, accounting for 62.2% of the total import volume (286,545 tons).
The background of Chinese pickled vegetables penetrating the daily lives of Koreans is "price." The locally produced South Korean pickled vegetables cost 3,600 won per kilogram (about 18 yuan RMB), while the Chinese pickled vegetables cost only about 1,700 won, less than half. Industry analysts said that from the perspective of catering enterprises, they can only choose imported products.
Some people also pointed out that it is not just because of the price. A person related to the South Korean food industry said, "Catering businesses have generally used Chinese pickled vegetables. Due to the burden of labor costs and raw material costs, it is difficult to supply locally produced pickled vegetables, so importing Chinese pickled vegetables and then adding seasonings domestically for semi-processing is more cost-effective."
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849566835998922/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.