Closed wallets due to sharp rise in seasoning vegetable prices in South Korea

It was found that the consumption of seasoned vegetables such as garlic, green onions, and onions is greatly affected by the so-called ‘sticker shock’. ‘Sticker shock’ means that consumers are shocked when they see the product price tag (sticker) and do not open their wallets because the price has risen. The Rural Development Administration analyzed how consumer consumption behavior changes when the prices of seasoned vegetables such as garlic, green onions, and onions rise sharply through the ‘2024 Agricultural and Food Consumption Trend Presentation Data Collection’. Jeong Jae-won, an agricultural researcher at the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration, explained, “For example, the price of green onions soared 240% in April 2021 compared to the same month of the previous year, but fell 50% in April 2022,” and “We investigated how extreme price fluctuations affect the consumption behavior of seasoned vegetables.” According to a survey ...