1,000 tons more from China...Should I grab the cabbages that are running wild?

[Anchor]
As cabbage prices continued to rise to the point where it was called the so-called "gold cabbage," the government started to put out the fire with imports of Chinese cabbage.

16 tons of initial supplies that entered Korea last week were unveiled for the first time.

The government plans to import about 1,000 tons more by next month depending on market conditions, and attention is being paid to whether it will be able to catch the high price of cabbage.

I'm reporter Hwang Bo Hye-kyung.

[Reporter]
This is a kimchi stew restaurant in downtown Seoul.

Like ordinary consumers, vegetables are delivered at retail prices, and I am worried that the price of cabbage, the main ingredient, has risen significantly.

[Son Seungjin / Kimchi stew restaurant: Domestic cabbage is actually not available at this price, so we mix Chinese cabbage, and everything has gone up so much for a retailer who runs a restaurant like us..]

The retail price of a head of summer cabbage sold on the market is 9,662 won, down 300 won from last Friday, but it is 56% higher than last year and 34% higher compared to the average year.

As cabbage prices continue to rise, 16 tons of Chinese cabbage imported by the government to control cabbage prices have been unveiled for the first time.

[Kim Ki-il / Head of management at Icheon Stockpile: Icheon Stockpile received about 16 tons on Friday, the 27th, and 5,300 heads in terms of abandonment, so we are keeping it well now]

These cabbages will be supplied to food and ingredients companies as early as this week after quality inspection and will not be released to the wholesale market.

If companies' demand for cabbage is replaced by Chinese cabbage, we can expect the effect of lowering the price of domestic cabbage.

The initial volume is still far short at 16 tons, and the government plans to import an additional 1,000 tons of Chinese cabbage by next month, depending on market supply and demand conditions.

[Song Mi-ryeong / Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: The current schedule is about 1,100 tons. I'm not bringing it in all at once, but I'm thinking about 200 tons per week. The story means we're going to look at the (domestic supply and demand) situation.

The government believes that after the middle of next month, the supply and demand conditions will improve as autumn cabbage cultivation volume will be released to the market.

However, there is tension because the upcoming typhoon can be a variable.

I'm YTN Hwang Bo Hye-kyung.

Filmmaker: Kwon Seok-jae, Yoon So-jeong
Design: Lee Na-young