■ The Secret of Agricultural Product Prices: Who Makes the Money? (Reporters Yoon Joo-sung and Kim Hyo-shin) Last year, a couple who farmed on Jeju Island committed suicide. They were struggling financially because they could not find a market for their agricultural products despite their hard work. This couple is not the only one who is having a hard time finding a market for their agricultural products or not receiving a fair price. Even when there is a good harvest, the so-called ‘farm waste’ of agricultural products, which involves plowing over the agricultural products that they worked so hard to grow, is repeated in rural areas. Why are farmers not receiving a fair price? Who and how determines the prices of agricultural products? To find answers to these questions, a KBS reporter harvested cabbage and potatoes in Gangwon-do and shipped them to Garak Market in Seoul, the central public wholesale market in Korea. However, depending on the wholesale market corporation that oversees the auction, the price of new potatoes ranged from 7,000 won to 32,000 won for a 20-kilogram box, a difference of 4.5 times. Cabbage prices also varied widely, from 6,500 won to 11,000 won for a 12-pack of special-grade cabbages. Even though they were selected and shipped from the same field and of similar sizes, the prices varied depending on the wholesale market corporation and the auction house. When the reporting team obtained and analyzed data on 13 types of fruits and vegetables traded at Garak Market in Seoul in September, it was revealed that 33% of the total 220,000 items were sold in 3 seconds. There were also over 8,000 cases where the auction was completed in 1 second. It was even confirmed that there were cases where the auction house called in a specific wholesaler and conducted a 1:1 auction. The auction system is a suspicious transaction that runs counter to the general belief in our society that the price determination process is transparent and fair. The entity that conducts the auction on behalf of the local government in the public wholesale market is the wholesale market corporation. Regardless of the fluctuations in agricultural product prices, they collect up to 7% of the successful bid as commissions, and they earn hundreds of billions of won every year. Once designated as a wholesale market corporation, there is no fear of being delisted unless there is a special reason. That is why the wholesale market corporation in Garak Market, Seoul is being traded for hundreds of billions of won, and its major shareholders are construction companies and steel companies that have nothing to do with agriculture. Some academic experts, farmers, and consumer groups have continuously called for the introduction of a competitive system for public wholesale markets, such as the “market wholesaler system,” which allows producers to participate in the agricultural product price determination process and reduce distribution stages. However, even though the basis for this is established in the current law, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has maintained a passive stance on the introduction of the “market wholesaler system” for over 20 years. Furthermore, related laws have been revised one after another to solidify the position of wholesale market corporations. This week's [Current Affairs Planning Window], which takes an in-depth look at the reality and background of who the 'auction-centered' distribution structure of the public wholesale market is for and why a competitive system for producers and consumers is not being introduced, will be broadcast on KBS 1TV at 8:05 PM on Saturday, December 19. #Agricultural product prices #Agricultural product distribution #Agricultural product auction #Green onions #Garak Market #Vegetable prices #Agricultural product disposal #Current Affairs Planning Window #KBS Current Affairs [Seafood] Squid: • China devours the East Sea - Sweeping away squid 2014.11.18 [K... Crab: • 'Autumn crab season' Illegal Chinese fishing boats appear daily at the West Sea NLL 2014... Shrimp: • Virus detected in frozen shrimp from Vietnam... How did the diseased shrimp cross the border... 'Current Affairs Planning Window' homepage https://bit.ly/39AXCbF YouTube http://bitly.kr/F41RXCerZip Facebook / changkbs WAVVE 'Current Affairs Planning Window' search