In this file photo, a shopper picks up a bag of onions at a supermarket in Seoul on Jan. 15, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s agricultural ministry and environment ministry will be starting a trial project on Thursday to sell onions separately at 96 stores in 17 cities for seven days.
Despite increased demand for onions sold individually with the rise of single-person households in the country, most stores continue to sell them in packs.
Packaging onions has been a considerable workload for farmers as well.
In response, the government plans to set up a distribution channel for unpacked onions that connects farms to consumers, thereby resolving the issue of labor supply and offering a reduction in the use of packaging materials.
Participating in the trial project will be five stores including Emart and Lotte Mart.
The 173 tons of onions sold individually during the trial event are expected to reduce the use of 115,000 packaging materials.
“This trial event will help us establish a fundamental solution to reducing waste,” said Hong Dong-gon, an official at the Ministry of Environment.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
