This summer will be even hotter and more humid... South Korean government makes every effort to deal with ”climate inflation” - South Korean media

This summer is expected to be hotter and rainier than normal, raising concerns about "climateflation," a situation in which food prices rise due to changing weather.
As the seeds have not disappeared, if food prices rise again, it could add fuel to consumer prices, which have been slowing down to the 2% range. The South Korean government is considering a supply-demand adjustment, especially for agricultural products, which are highly susceptible to the weather.
The government plans to intensively control the heatwaves and minimize the impact on farmers. The first heat wave warning of this summer was issued on the 10th in parts of Daegu, Ulsan, and Yeongnam.
According to a forecast issued by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) based on the climate forecast models of meteorological agencies in 12 countries, including Korea, a typhoon will hit Korea from June 17th.
The probability that temperatures in August will be higher than average is 74% to 80%. The Japan Meteorological Agency analyzed that the high sea levels, which have been breaking records every year, will lead to high temperatures and heavy precipitation this summer.
The compound disaster of intense heat and heavy rains hitting our dining tables again last year.
Vegetables that are sensitive to weather conditions, such as spinach (66.9%) and young radish leaves (55.3%), have soared by 7.1%, and in August of last year
Fruit prices, including apples (30%), peaches (23.8%), and watermelons (18.6%), surged 13.1%.
According to a report titled "Analysis of the Economic Impact of the Heatwave on the Korean Economy," the prices of Chinese cabbage (10 kg) and radish (20 kg) during the summer of 2018, the hottest summer on record, rose 23.1% and 45.5% respectively from the previous year.
Prices for seasonal fruits such as grapes (47.1%) and pears (15.2%) also rose sharply.
In September 2020, agricultural, livestock and fishery product prices rose 13.5% year-on-year to reach their highest level in nine years and six months.
The so-called "extremely heavy rain" phenomenon, which causes heavy rainfall in certain areas, is expected to continue. The Korea Development Institute (KDI) published an article titled "The impact and implications of changes in weather conditions on prices."
The analysis report estimated that if the amount of precipitation increases or decreases by 100 mm, the price increase rate of fresh food would increase by 0.07%.
The government plans to do everything in its power to reduce the pressure on the country. In order to control supply and demand for Chinese cabbage and radishes, the government will stockpile an additional 10,000 tons of spring Chinese cabbage and 5,000 tons of spring radishes by the end of this month, and will close the contract for summer Chinese cabbage.
The company decided to expand the amount of produce to 67,000 tons. It will closely monitor the crops of lettuce and green chili peppers in preparation for the possibility of torrential rains like those of last year, and will consider the cost of reseeding and shipping if damage occurs.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries plans to provide financial support and other assistance to help with rapid reshipment. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will hold a meeting to check the supply and demand situation of agricultural and food products every week instead of once a month or whenever necessary.
A Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs official said, "In summer, the yields of highland vegetables, which are weak in highland climates due to their high temperature and humidity, may worsen, so we decided to check for heavy rainfall in advance.
"We must exert all our efforts to prevent the spread of anthrax during this period and prevent an incident like last year from happening again," he said, adding, "We must ask each local government to prepare drainage facilities in advance in preparation for flooding of vinyl greenhouses."
Experts say that with abnormal weather becoming the "new normal," mid- to long-term countermeasures are needed.
"We need to increase investment in greenhouse horticulture technology and smart farms, and develop a production system that can respond more proactively to climate change," said Kim Sung-Hoon, a professor of agricultural economics at Chungnam National University.
"Currently, the government has only 11 stockpiles of vegetables, which are subject to large short-term supply and demand fluctuations, but we need to expand the stockpiles to include domestically produced fruits and other items that are sensitive to price fluctuations," he said.
We need to consider some big ideas as well."