FAS/Seoul Monitoring of Media Reporting on Agricultural Issues 

Today's Date: Friday,  January 3,  2025

For Coverage:  December 28, 2024 ~  January 3, 2025

SPC to set up bakery factory in Texas
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2025/01/419_389610.html
Summary:  SPC Group, the Seoul-based food and beverage firm, said that it is negotiating to build its largest-ever overseas bakery factory in Texas to supply quality baked products to more regions across America.  The factory will be used to supply bakery products for Paris Baguette, a multinational bakery chain operated by SPC, in America.  Currently, there are around 600 Paris Baguette stores operating in 14 countries worldwide, with some 200 Paris Baguette stores particularly in North America.  SPC hopes to expand the supply of its bakery products to central and South American countries by utilizing the relative proximity of its new factory in Texas.  By 2030, SPC aims to open more than 1,000 Paris Baguette stores in North America.

Consumer prices in 2024 rise 2.3%
https://www.newsis.com/view/NISI20250101_0020647540 / https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/biz/2024/12/602_389435.html
Summary:  The price increase rate of fresh food products such as fruits and vegetables was the highest in 14 years due to abnormal climate changes last year.  According to Statistics Korea, on December 31^st, the consumer price index last year was 114.18 (100 in 2020), up 2.3% from the previous year.  However, consumer price inflation rate slowed down to 2.3% from 3.6% a year earlier.  Prices of agricultural, fishery and livestock products rose 10.4%, 1.6%, and 0.7%, respectively, and fruits and vegetables, in particular, showed a significant surge of 9.8%, the highest annual growth since 2010.  Overall, agricultural, fishery and livestock products increased 5.9% compared to the previous year.

Three changes to the food safety system in the new year
http://www.foodnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=111418
Summary:  The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced the following major changes to the food safety system, starting January 1^st, 2025.
1. Food products that are labeled and advertised with hangover-related expressions such as “hangover cure,” and “the day after drinking” are required to have demonstration materials for human clinical trials.  Along with that, the products must be labeled and advertised depending on the deliberation results of the Korea Food Industry Association, a self-deliberation agency.
2. Consumers will be able to purchase customized health functional foods in small portions and combinations based on consultations with experts such as pharmacists and nutritionists in the light of individual lifestyle and health conditions.
3. In order to help consumers respond against shrinkflation, food products whose content has been decreased compared to before are required to be labeled with its changes and the content of the product for more than three months from the date of change.

EPIS releases analysis on online trends to promote rice consumption
http://www.foodnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=111424
Summary:  Korea Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (EPIS) released the “Farm Trend & Issue,” a report analyzing online keywords and data related to rice to find ways to promote rice consumption.  The report, which analyzed 3,810,386 data posted online over the past four years from 2021 through 2024, found that during the period of the rising rice price (January 2021-July 2021), there were much feedback expressing dissatisfaction with high rice prices and its irrational distribution structure.  In contrast, during the period of its price reduction (August 2021-October 2022) and price stability (November 2022 to present), there was a widespread understanding of the importance of food security and expectations for the sale of various rice processed products using ground rice.  The EPIS president said that as rice is one of the most important crops for food security for Koreans, he would strive to revitalize the shrinking rice consumption by focusing on rice processed foods.

Increase in exports of health functional food products riding the Korean Wave
https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10031993?ref=naver
Summary:  Health functional foods, which have been stagnating since the COVID-19 pandemic, are making a breakthrough overseas , riding the Korean Wave along with K-food.  According to statistics released by the Korea Customs Service on December 27^th, the export of unspecified food preparations including health functional foods was $811.42 million, from January to November in 2024, which is a 5.6% increase from $768.06 million in the same period the previous year.  Exports of health functional foods have continued to grow from $581 million in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak, to $722.7 million in 2021 and $730.4 million in 2022.  By country, China accounted for $192.2 million in exports during the same period, followed by Japan ($125.5 million), Vietnam ($92.7 million), the United States ($72.7 million/ *$68.5 million in the previous year), and Indonesia ($63.2 million), respectively.  On the other hand, growth in the domestic market has remained sluggish due to depression in demand and changing consumption trends since the pandemic eased.  Domestic sales amounted to 3.77 trillion won compared to 3.89 trillion in the previous year.  The health functional food industry is continuing to establish a larger presence in overseas markets with its flagship item, red ginseng.