This photo taken March 21, 2025, shows a foreign customer selecting Ottogi Corp.’s Jin Ramen products at a large discount store in Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Ottogi Corp., a major South Korean food company, said Thursday it will raise the prices of its “ramyeon,” or instant noodle, products next month to reflect higher raw materials costs.
Ottogi plans to raise the retail prices of 16 ramyeon products by an average of 7.5 percent starting April 1, the company said in a press release.
The price of Jin Ramen, the most popular among Ottogi’s ramyeon products, will rise to 790 won (US$0.54) from 710 won, while that of Odongtong Myon is set to rise to 836 won from 800 won, it said.
“The price hike is inevitable to reflect the won’s weakness (against the dollar), rising raw materials prices, and higher logistics and labor costs,” the company said.
A weak won drives up the purchasing cost of raw materials, such as palm oil and starch, largely imported from overseas.
Its bigger rival Nongshim Co. raised the prices of 14 ramyeon products by 7.2 percent and three snack products by 7.4 percent from March 17 due to the same reasons.
Samyang Foods Inc., renowned for its “Buldak” spicy ramyeon, said it is not considering price hikes at the moment.
(Yonhap)
