The price of rice in North Korea appears to be falling this month after skyrocketing past KPW 6,000 a kilogram in late February. Grain prices also seem to be falling with North Korea expanding imports of food from China last month.
According to Daily NK’s regular survey of market prices in North Korea, a kilogram of rice cost KPW 5,550 in Pyongyang as of Mar. 19, a 4.3% fall from the previous survey on Mar. 5, when it cost KPW 5,800.
In Pyongyang, the price of rice rose to KWP 6,000 a kilogram late last month, but the price has been falling this month.
The price of rice has likewise been falling in other regions as well.
In Sinuiju, North Pyongan Province, the price of rice has fallen a bit more than it has in Pyongyang or Hyesan, Yanggang Province.
In one market in Sinuiju on Mar. 19, a kilogram of rice cost KPW 5,610, a 6% decrease from the previous survey on Mar. 5, when it cost KPW 5,970.
In the case of Hyesan, where market prices are higher than other regions, a kilogram of rice still cost over KPW 6,000, but even there, the price fell by the same amount as in Pyongyang compared to the previous survey.
The price of corn generally appears to be falling, too. However, a kilogram of corn still costs over KPW 3,000.
In particular, the price of corn plummeted in Hyesan. A kilogram of corn in Hyesan’s markets cost KPW 3,200 as of Mar. 19, but this was 8.6% less than it did on Mar. 5.
The price of corn in Sinuiju on Mar. 19 was also 3.1% less than it was at the start of the month.
However, there was little price movement in Pyongyang, where rice was trading at KPW 3,000 a kilogram on Mar. 19, the same as it was on Mar. 5.
It seems grain prices are generally falling in North Korea as of late because food imports have expanded.
“Rice makes up most of the cargo going by ship from Shandong Province to Nampo,” a reporting partner in China told Daily NK recently, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “Since last month, the most requested item by North Korean trading companies has been rice.”
In fact, according to recently released numbers from China Customs, North Korea has greatly expanded imports of grains such as rice from the fourth quarter of last year.
Last October, North Korea imported over 7.30 million dollars in rice from China. In November, it imported over USD 12.83 million in rice, and in December, it imported over USD 7.41 million in rice.
North Korea imported nearly USD 4.35 million in rice in January of this year and over USD 7.91 million in rice in February, meaning it imported over USD 12.26 million in rice in the first two months of the year alone.
Imports of corn, wheat and other grains have increased this year, too.
Since North Korea harvests no grains this time of year, market grain prices will fluctuate depending on imports through June, when wheat and barley cultivation begins.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
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