North Korean food prices have hit record highs, deepening hardship across the country.
According to Daily NK’s regular market survey, rice prices exceeded 8,000 North Korean won per kilogram in all major cities as of November 24. In markets across Pyongyang, Sinuiju (North Pyongan province), and Hyesan (Ryanggang province), rice sold for 8,000, 8,100, and 8,200 won respectively – representing increases of 6.7%, 7.3%, and 6.5% from the Nov. 10 survey. These are the highest prices recorded since Daily NK began tracking in 2009.
While rice prices had remained stable in the 7,000 won range since Oct. 27, they recently surged past the 8,000 won mark. Even more dramatically, corn prices – the staple food for low-income North Koreans – have risen faster than rice.
In Hyesan’s markets, corn reached a record 4,100 won per kilogram on Nov. 24, jumping 17.1% in just two weeks. This marks the first time corn prices have exceeded 4,000 won in Hyesan since late June 2021, when COVID-19 lockdowns caused prices to temporarily double compared to other regions. Similarly, Sinuiju saw corn prices hit 4,000 won per kilogram – a 17.6% increase and an unprecedented high for the city.
The scale of these increases is extraordinary – rice prices have surged 63.9% since January, while corn prices have shot up 70.7%. Such dramatic post-harvest price increases are virtually unprecedented, as prices typically decline after the autumn harvest.
Multiple factors appear to be driving the spike: state agencies monopolizing rice purchases after harvest, and more people using dollars or yuan to buy staples as exchange rates rise. Sources report that merchants increasingly refuse North Korean won due to its falling value, or charge premiums above current exchange rates. Even domestic agricultural products, traditionally sold only in local currency, are seeing rapid price increases.
The situation is further complicated by money changers trading foreign currency for rice and other goods rather than local currency, exacerbating grain shortages.
Cho Chung-hee, director of Good Farmers’ research institute and a North Korean agriculture expert, told Daily NK that people are preferring commodities like rice or corn to local currency as the won’s value drops. “Despite increased demand, dwindling supplies continue to drive prices up,” he explained.
“Even if this year’s harvest improved agricultural production somewhat, it would do little to stabilize food prices,” Cho predicted, “as the market grain price surge is fundamentally linked to the won’s devaluation and rising exchange rates.”
Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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December 02, 2024 at 10:49AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)