North Korean business people in local markets are complaining of stagnant sales and revenue despite the influx of imported Chinese foodstuffs driving down prices, Daily NK has learned.
A Daily NK source in North Hamgyong Province said Thursday that the prices of imported foodstuffs have been on the decline in Chongjin’s markets since last month.
“However, merchant revenues aren’t climbing because there aren’t many consumers,” he said.
According to the source, supplies of foodstuffs imported from China — including oil, seasonings and sugar — have recently been increasing in Chongjin’s markets, leading to falling prices.
However, this is injecting little vitality into the markets, with economic difficulties depressing local purchasing power.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the state has been unloading goods imported through state-led trade largely onto state-run shops. In turn, certain donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More, North Korea’s wealthy entrepreneurial class, and merchants acquire the goods from the shops to sell in the markets.
However, marketplace merchants are reportedly selling the goods for higher prices than the state-run shops to turn a profit, depressing sales.
“People buy goods where they are cheap, not where they are expensive,” the source said. “Because prices are largely formulated by the state-run shops, it’s becoming rarer and rarer for merchants to make money in the markets.”
In fact, merchants in Chongjin are reportedly having a difficult time earning a living through their commercial activities. The source said merchants cannot make ends meet on a daily basis because nobody is buying, even if they have goods to sell.
Witnessing poor sales despite falling prices, merchants are complaining that the “markets look set to close their doors.”
The source said the continued closure of the border since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the state’s grip on trade in the name of the “planned economy” is gradually making it more difficult for private business people to earn money.
With the government distributing goods at state-run shops across the country, selling them for the same price everywhere, inter-regional commerce is going nowhere, either, the source said.
“In these circumstances, opportunities are growing for donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More to make money by hoarding potentially lucrative goods as soon as they come in and selling them when the prices rise,” he said.
The source said people are facing intensifying economic difficulties because the state is directing commerce, even as it fails to disseminate food.
“It would be great if the authorities solved livelihood issues with the planned economy, but because people believe this to be unlikely, they hardly welcome the state’s economic policy now,” he said.
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