Retail prices of red beans, flour and sugar on the decline

Costs still remain above historical averages, however

A vendor grills bungeo-ppang, fish-shaped pastries filled with sweet red bean paste, at Gwangjang Market in Jongno-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]
A vendor grills bungeo-ppang, fish-shaped pastries filled with sweet red bean paste, at Gwangjang Market in Jongno-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

Bungeo-ppang season is here. As temperatures dropped sharply, street vendors selling the fish-shaped pastries have begun setting up their stalls in earnest — and with them comes renewed attention to prices. Many consumers have grown accustomed to paying 1,000 won per piece or 2,000 won for three, and the question now is whether those prices will climb even higher this year.

According to industry sources, the retail prices of key ingredients used in bungeo-ppang have been falling recently. Red beans are the clearest example. Data from the Korea Agricultural Marketing Information Service (KAMIS), operated by the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation, show that the retail price of 500 grams of domestically grown red beans stood at 13,513 won ($10) as of Wednesday, down 2.41 percent from a year earlier and 1.38 percent from the previous month.

Flour prices have also declined. According to the consumer price index from the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS), the flour CPI fell to 127.42 (base year 2020=100) last month, down 6.4 percent from the same month a year ago. The sugar CPI over the same period dropped 3.9 percent to 142.44.

However, lower ingredient costs do not automatically translate into cheaper bungeo-ppang. The price of the pastry is shaped not only by red beans and flour but also by other ingredients, gas, labor and equipment costs. Because street vendors operate at limited sales volumes, even a partial drop in raw material prices is difficult to pass on to consumers right away.

There are also wildcards. Both red bean and wheat harvests have shrunk, and the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war has disrupted grain exports. Red bean prices, which surged last year, remain well above historical averages — 47.67 percent higher than the norm. Cultivated acreage has also contracted. Domestic red bean output totaled 6,219 tons in 2024, down 13.6 percent from 7,205 tons in 2014. Production has gradually recovered since a low of 5,001 tons in 2017 but has yet to fully return to earlier levels.

Wheat, which South Korea relies heavily on imports to supply, faces its own price instability due to the ongoing war. Declining yields in major producing regions and rising maritime freight rates are adding further pressure. The international grain futures price index is forecast to rise 3.8 percent quarter-on-quarter and 24.1 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of this year. Freight costs are also climbing — the Capesize freight index is up 81.8 percent from a year ago, while the Panamax freight index has risen 27.6 percent over the same period.


siuu@heraldcorp.com