Finance ministry inspects highland cabbage supply amid heat, rain

The finance ministry said Monday its interagency livelihood-support task force inspected highland cabbage fields and supply conditions in Gangneung and Pyeongchang, as record heat and localized downpours emerged as risks to crops ahead of Chuseok demand.

Summer cabbage begins shipping in July and is grown at elevations above 400 meters. It is vulnerable to heavy rain and heat, resulting in greater volatility in output.

Led by Jang Do-hwan, the task force toured fields at Anbandegi in Gangneung and the Daegwallyeong Horticultural Agricultural Cooperative in Pyeongchang County, assessing crop growth, disease-and-pest controls and responses to summer heat and heavy rain. Anbandegi is a major highland cabbage-growing area at elevations of 1,000 to 1,200 meters.

At a meeting, participants heard concerns from people involved in highland cabbage production, distribution and processing, and discussed stable-supply measures using the Daegwallyeong cooperative's shipment-adjustment facilities. The government has secured 27,000 tonnes of available cabbage for potential supply shortages during the summer and Chuseok peak season, 8 percent higher than a year earlier.

"There are major concerns that climate change will destabilize agricultural product supplies, but we will work closely with relevant ministries to do our utmost to manage cabbage supplies and prices during the Chuseok peak season," Jang Do-hwan, head of the task force, said.

"I ask local governments, agricultural cooperatives and other related institutions to step up consumption of seasonal vegetables and actively help farmers produce summer cabbage reliably while securing an appropriate income," Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung said.