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Chinese exports ease Korean kimchi crisis

By Hu Yang (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-10-12 14:41

South Korean housewives, gathered for an charity event, make "kimchi," the traditional pungent vegetable dish, in front of Seoul City Hall on Nov 20, 2008, in Seoul, South Korea. The kimchi is a traditional Korean dish of fermented vegetables, usually mixed with chilli. It is commonly eaten with rice or as side dish. [Photo/CFP]

As many as 262.6 tons of Chinese cabbage, the first batch of a 1,500-ton deal, has been delivered from China's Jilin province to South Korea on Oct 11, to relieve a shortage of the Korean staple side dish kimchi.

Zhao Xiaowei, a staff member with the Chinese cabbage provider, Changchun Gaorong Agriculture Co Ltd, said the 1,500-ton deal would reach the company's processing capacity limit. The South Korean clients originally wanted to order 2,000 tons, Guangzhou Daily reported.

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South Korea has been caught in a kimchi crisis since the ingredients for making this traditional food, namely Chinese cabbage and radish, have seen skyrocketing price increases due to adverse weather.

The South Korea government has decided to temporarily lift tariffs on Chinese cabbages and radishes. The original tariff was about 30 percent.

A head of domestic cabbage is sold for over 10,000 Korean won ($8.88) in South Korea, while imported cabbage from China is sold for 2,000 to 3,000 won per head.

Three hundred heads of Chinese cabbage were sold out in 10 minutes in a Seoul supermarket on Oct 9, at 2,500 won per head.