Dylan
Community Tutor
《75% drop in sales of farm produce for school lunch due to COVID-19》 Sales of domestic farm produce for school lunch have nosedived in South Korea amid the trend where most schools have shifted to online teaching. According to data by Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, sales of domestic farm produce for school lunch have dropped nearly 75.1% in the period of January to August this year compared to the same period last year. This downward trend counteracts how sales of the domestic farm produce had been on the rise for the past three years. In particular, sales of rice slid 72% from 63 billion won ($55 million) in 2019 to 17.6 billion won ($15.3 million) this year. Also, sales of potato and onion fell 77.5% and 67.5%, respectively. Furthermore, there was also a huge drop in average monthly sales of the farm produce from last year's 37.7 billion won ($32.9 million) and this year's 14 billion won ($12 million). Hong Moon-pyo, a lawmaker from the main opposition party The People Power Party, said that the eco-friendly agriculture industry received a huge blow from the pandemic considering how most schools use organic produce for their school meals. "We have to actively support the eco-friendly agriculture industry that is facing difficulties due to a decrease in organic produce consumption by local schools," said Hong.
Oct 11, 2020 11:04 PM