South Korea: Fresh shiitake mushrooms with large difference in value between grades

The market for raw shiitake mushrooms has been running wildly this month. At the Garak Market in Seoul on the 13th, a box of 8 kg of raw shiitake was traded for an average of 65,387 won. It started in the late 50,000 won range at the beginning of this month and entered the 60,000 won range on the 4th. Since then, it has been hovering around 60,000 to 70,000 won due to increased demand for Chuseok. The current market price is 17% lower than the same period last year (8 days before Chuseok), but 7% higher than the normal year. The price gap between grades is widening. This is because the number of special items for gift sets has greatly decreased due to the influence of the autumn and rainy season. “After the autumn and rainy season, the proportion of heavy goods and furnishings increased due to the deterioration of quality due to excessive humidity after the autumn and rainy season.” In fact, around the 10th of this month, the highest price of 8 kg of fresh ...