Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung visited the Anseong Agricultural Products Processing Center and Lotte Mart to inspect Chuseok peak season items.

Visit to Fruit Tree Distribution Center and Lotte Mart in Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Hong Guk-ki = Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryeong visited the Fruit Distribution Center (APC) and Lotte Mart Anseong branch in Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 12th to inspect the supply and distribution situation of Chuseok products.

After touring the APC's process of selecting and shipping pears, a representative Chuseok holiday product, Minister Song asked, "Please make every effort to manage distribution so that there are no disruptions in the supply of holy goods until just before the holiday."

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs expanded the supply of pears during the Chuseok peak season to 146,000 tons, 3.5 times the normal amount, through contract cultivation and designated shipment volume.

In addition, the supply of discount support for gift sets of small and medium-sized fruits such as apples and pears and alternative fruits such as Shine Muscat and persimmons has been increased from 150,000 units last year to 230,000 units this year.

An APC official who guided the site said, "This year's pear growth conditions, harvest volume, and fruit-to-fruit ratio are maintained at the previous year's level, so there will be no disruption in supply during the Chuseok peak season."

Minister Song then visited the Lotte Mart Anseong branch to look at the supply and demand trends of agricultural and livestock products, including Chuseok holiday products, and inspect the site of the agricultural and livestock product discount support project.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will invest a budget of 149 billion won to provide discounts of up to 40% on Chuseok products at large and small marts, eco-friendly stores, direct stores, and online malls until the 30th.

From the 16th to the 20th, 300 traditional markets across the country will hold an event where 30% of the purchase price of domestic agricultural and livestock products will be refunded with Onnuri gift certificates, up to 20,000 won per person.

Minister Song emphasized, "We will closely monitor the production and distribution inventory status of major Chuseok holiday products with related organizations, and focus all our capabilities on lowering the burden on people's shopping carts."