Wholesale prices of Shine Muscat grapes have fallen to about a third of their level five years ago while production costs rise, deepening the strain on farms. Calls are growing for effective support for vulnerable growers such as people who recently moved into farming.
According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, A, a 48-year-old Shine Muscat grower in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, was found dead on the 8th. He had moved into farming with his family in 2021 and grown grapes for five years, and was reported to have faced financial and living hardship from price collapses in recent years. This article mourns him and focuses on the structural difficulties farms face rather than the circumstances of the case.
광고 문의 · 300×250A third of the price five years ago
Data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation (aT) show the average wholesale price of a 2kg box of mid-grade Shine Muscat this month is 7,690 won. The price was 23,811 won per 2kg in 2021 and has fallen every year since, to about a third of five years ago. At recent auctions at the Garak market, some lots sold for around 3,000 won per 2kg, and farmers say nothing is left after auction fees, transport, unloading and labor.
Oversupply is cited first. Critics say the government promoted Shine Muscat as a new income crop and backed planting, after which output rose and prices fell. Changes in distribution also played a part: with Homeplus operations halted, produce that had flowed to its stores nationwide was redirected to the Garak market, pushing prices lower still, according to the explanation. On top of that, the Middle East war has lifted oil-linked production costs and added to farmers' burden.
A harsher structure for newcomers
People who move into farming often take policy loans to settle, typically with a five-year grace period followed by 20 years of repayment. Grapevines take about three years to bear fruit and yield little in the fourth, so A had to start recouping his investment this year just as prices collapsed and repayments came due. An official of the Korean Peasants League said established farmers had weathered earlier slumps through contingency plans and crop diversification, while young farmers and returnees, lacking knowledge and experience of the crop, are hit harder.
Farm income itself is thin. Last year's farm income was only 11.71 million won, while farm operating costs were 28.2 million won, up 16.4 percent in five years. Korea Grape Association chairman Park Yong-ha said minimum-wage workers earn more than 30 million won a year while farmers take home about 11 million. In a statement on the 15th, the Korean Peasants League said farmers in North Chungcheong and Gangwon had also died this year amid financial hardship, and demanded government measures.
The Kyunghyang Shinmun report, however, did not present a concrete government plan, and its timing and scale have not been confirmed. Farm groups call for support that growers can feel on the ground, such as supply management, deferred loan repayment and interest relief, farm-gate disposal and wider direct sales, and counseling for mental and daily-life stability. Anyone in distress should not bear it alone; in Korea, professional help is available through the suicide prevention hotline at 109.
