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According to the National Statistical Portal (KOSIS) of the National Statistical Office on the 11th, the grocery price index rose 6.7% from the same period a year ago in January to February. This is the highest level in three years since 2021 (8.3%) from January to February.
On a monthly basis, the growth rate of food prices jumped from 5.3 percent (year-on-year) in September last year to 6.9 percent in October and stayed in the 6 percent range for four consecutive months until January this year (6.0 percent) before rising to 7.3 percent last month. It is the first time in a year and four months that food inflation has hit the 7% mark since October 2022 (7.5%).
The recent rise in food prices is mainly attributed to a surge in fruit prices. Fruit prices are soaring as apple prices are rising due to sluggish crops and prices of tangerines and other products are rising due to alternative demand.
The fruit price index for groceries jumped 38.3% last month to 161.39 (2020 = 100) from a year ago. This is the highest level in 32 years and 5 months since September 1991 (43.3%). Vegetables and seaweed also rose 11.3% last month, the highest increase in 11 months since March last year (12.8%), raising food prices.
Against this backdrop, households' actual grocery consumption is also on the decline.
According to the National Statistical Office's household trend survey, food and non-mainstream beverage spending by households with one or more people averaged KRW 409,000 in the fourth quarter of last year, up 2.4% from a year ago.
However, real spending on food and non-mainstream drinks, which excludes the price impact, fell 3.9%.
Real spending on groceries and non-mainstream beverages fell for the seventh quarter from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of last year. Although it rebounded 1.1% in the third quarter of last year, it is on the decline again.
Another food consumption, the actual spending on meals (eating out), also fell 0.2% in the fourth quarter of last year. It has been negative for three quarters since the second quarter of last year (0.8%) and the third quarter (2.0%).