SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Peaches have surpassed watermelon to become this summer’s most popular fruit at large malls, primarily led by changes in consumption trends.
Peach sales topped South Korean discount retailer E-Mart Inc.’s fruit sales chart between July 1 and August 18.
Unlike the years 2020 and 2021, when peaches came after watermelon in fruit sales, this year’s peach sales jumped by 22.9 percent, while sales of watermelon dropped by 8.7 percent.
The change is largely attributed to smaller households preferring peaches over watermelon due to their size, E-Mart said.
While watermelon sales have shrunk overall, sales of smaller-sized watermelons like black mango watermelons and black apple watermelons rose by 11.5 percent.
Price changes for peaches and watermelons have also influenced consumer trends.
The wholesale price of Baekdo peaches (4.5 kg per box) was 20,780 won (US$15.54) as of Friday, down by 7.4 percent from last year, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp.
In contrast, the wholesale price of watermelon was 24,860 won per fruit, up by 27.8 percent.
Image Credit: Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
