Posted on August, 28, 2024 at 08:31 am
North Korean market grain prices are skyrocketing. Recent heavy rains have hindered the corn harvest, and the North Korean authorities have restricted markets to mobilize people for flood recovery efforts, sparking the rise in food prices.
According to Daily NK’s regular survey of North Korea’s market prices, a kilogram of rice in a particular market in Pyongyang was 6,000 North Korean won as of Aug. 18, 5.3% higher than two weeks earlier on Aug. 4, when it was 5,700 won.
Rice prices likewise climbed in other regions, too. A kilogram of rice cost 6,200 won in Sinuiju, North Pyongan province, and 6,500 won in Hyesan, Ryanggang province, an increase of 6.9% and 6.6%, respectively, from the previous survey.
Market corn prices also climbed. As of Aug. 18, a kilogram of corn cost 2,800 won in a Pyongyang market, a 7.7% increase from Aug. 4, when it cost 2,600 won.
However, corn prices climbed only slightly in Sinuiju and Hyesan. In a particular market in Sinuiju, a kilogram of corn was 2,850 won as of Aug. 18, a 3.6% climb from the previous survey, when it cost 2,750 won. This appears to be because of the continuous supply of relief supplies to the flood zone.
Immediately after the floods, the North Korean authorities reportedly sold wartime grain stocks, including emergency rice supplies for the State Affairs Commission, through state-run grain shops to prevent market grain prices from rising.
In fact, earlier this month, North Korea’s market rice prices differed little — or were even a bit lower — than prices on July 21, before the flood damage. However, not only are North Korean markets supplying insufficient grain, but the North Korean authorities are also restricting market operations to mobilize personnel for flood recovery efforts, with grain prices rising as a result.
Quoting a source, Daily NK previously reported that market hours in North Pyongan province, the hardest hit region by the latest floods, were cut from eight hours a day to under three. With personnel mobilized for flood recovery efforts during the day, people must wait until 5 p.m. or after for markets to open.
With trade and smuggling contracting in the border region due to the recent floods, imports are not entering North Korea. So, even if the markets do open, they have fewer kinds of items, and stocks are lower than usual.
Moreover, since people cannot earn an income through economic activity in the markets, their purchasing power has fallen, too. According to the source in North Pyongan province, people who used to buy a week’s worth of food have recently been buying two or three days’ worth instead.
North Koreans’ falling purchasing power is directly linked to food shortages. Recently, cornflour noodles have been the most popular food in North Korea. The source said more people now add vegetables like cabbage, boil the noodles until they unravel and then make enough to live on the dish for the next two or so days.
The corn recently appearing in markets is reportedly meager in quantity and poor in quality. Fresh corn has also appeared with the start of the harvest, but much of the corn is unripened and infected with smut, which turns it black.
“People are unhappy because not only can’t they make money with the markets being closed, but most of the corn appearing in the markets is infected with smut,” the source said.
Source: Daily NK