SEOUL, March 2 (Yonhap) – Prices of pork belly meat in South Korea have shot up nearly 19 percent in recent months as supply fails to catch up with rising demand, data showed Thursday.
According to the data by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., the retail price of pork belly meat came to 18,766 won (US$16.43) per kilogram as of Feb. 28, up 18.7 percent from the average year price. The average year price refers to the median of prices recorded on that day during the past five years.
The wholesale price of pork belly meat stood at 4,647 won per kg on that day, up 16.7 percent from a year earlier.
The corporation attributed the price surge to an undersupply that stemmed from a decline in the number of slaughtering days, the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and rising consumption.
Butcheries nationwide opened for fewer days in January as the country observed the Lunar New Year holiday from Jan. 27-30. South Korea has reported a total of nine confirmed FMD cases since the first outbreak on Feb. 5, culling a large number of cows and pigs.
South Korea’s pork consumption has also been on the rise in keeping with changing eating habits and an increase in people’s meat intake.
According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute, per capita pork consumption reached an estimated 23.3 kg in 2016, up 22 percent from 19 kg five years earlier.
A survey of 737 consumers, taken by the Rural Development Administration in December last year, showed 3 out of the 10 respondents eat pork more than once a week, with more than 60 percent picking belly meat as their most favorite part for grilling.
Grilled pork belly is one of ordinary Koreans’ most favorite foods and is often eaten with soju, the most popular Korean liquor.
Market watchers predicted prices of pork belly meat to continue their upturn for a couple of months due to a short supply and increasing demand.