Since last year, the price of ramen has been rising rapidly메이저놀이터. Companies have explained that it is because the price of raw materials has risen a lot, but nowadays, the price of raw materials is actually falling, but the price of ramen is still the same.
Reporter Je Hee-won took a look at why.
<Reporter
The price of ramen, a representative common food, has been rising since the second half of last year.
After Nongshim, the country’s No. 1 ramen company, raised prices by 11.3 percent, Ottogi, Faldo, and Samyang Food also raised prices by around 10 percent.
[Lee Eun-young/Seoul Gangseo-gu: The price of ramen has also gone up so much (that) I tend to choose the ones that are attached to one more thing, because even if I don’t put a few in it, tens of thousands of won just come out….]
Ramen makers cited rising costs as the main reason for the price hike.
Last year, in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine and supply chain unrest, the cost of wheat and palm oil, the main ingredients of ramen, as well as transportation and packaging costs, went up across the board.
This year, however, the situation is different.
The international prices of wheat and palm oil, which account for most of our costs, have been falling, but the consumer price has remained the same.
[Food company employee: The international prices of raw materials are not reflected immediately, so we are currently using raw materials with increased prices. We are not currently considering lowering prices].
As a result of this situation, instant noodle prices rose 13.1% last month.
It’s the highest since the global financial crisis.
The cost burden has been reduced somewhat, but the price increase has been maintained, so companies have been performing well.
Nongshim’s operating profit in the first quarter increased by 85% compared to last year, and Ottogi’s increased by 10%.
In addition to domestic sales, overseas exports of instant noodles increased, contributing to their performance.
However, in the era of high inflation and the burden of food-related expenses is getting bigger and bigger, so consumers are not expecting companies to quickly reflect price increases.