(Image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Jun. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs established the Vegetable Industry Development Planning Committee on Tuesday to prevent an oversupply of vegetables as an increasing number of single-person households are purchasing fewer vegetables at the market.
“An oversupply of vegetables is becoming more severe as single-person or double-income households that prefer instant goods over fresh food are increasing in number in recent years,” said the ministry.
“We will work through the committee to prevent the oversupply problem from becoming a chronic, systematic problem.”
The committee held its first meeting on Monday, inviting some 40 experts from various fields including government officials, academics, businessmen, and manufacturers.
The committee will be in operation until August to design development plans for the vegetable industry through intensive consultation with various subject matter experts.
The ministry, based on the committee’s proposal, will analyze the consumption patterns of fresh food in South Korea based on production and consumption trends by the end of this year, and develop comprehensive plans to stabilize supply and demand as well as the distribution structure.
In addition, to stabilize the price of vegetables, the government also plans to expand local food and public catering systems where producers can directly participate in deciding upon the price, and ensure multiple channels of distribution where suppliers and clients can engage in transactions based on a fixed price rate.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
