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Potato prices Until the \u201cBecause it In According \u201cA lot of New \u201cIn some The current <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Potato prices are declining in many areas of North Korea as a result of the first new potatoes of the season arriving on the market. In North Korea, new potatoes are planted at the end of March or beginning of April, depending on the climate that year, and are harvested in the middle of June. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":27522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[645],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nare declining in many areas of North Korea as a result of the
\nfirst new potatoes of the season arriving on the market. In North Korea, new potatoes are planted at the end of March or beginning of April, depending on
\nthe climate that year, and are harvested in the middle of June.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nend of last month, a kilo of potatoes cost 800KPW (North Korean won) in public
\nmarkets, but prices have since fallen by half.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nis hard to survive solely on grains such as rice and corn here, demand for potatoes
\nis high,\u201d a Yangkang Province source told Daily NK on the 23rd. \u201cThe current
\ndecline in potato prices will slightly lessen the burden for those people who constantly
\nworry about their food supply.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\naddition, \u201cRice and corn prices are on the increase when compared to last month,
\nwhereas potato prices are declining in most regions, including Pyongyang, Pyongsung,
\nChongjin and Hyesan,\u201d the source added.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nto the source, some of the new potatoes are distributed to farming households,
\nwhile others go onto the market where they are bartered for fertilizer to be used for other crops later in the season. The current declining price reflects the fact that most people prefer to sell new potatoes rather than store them, because they go
\nbad more rapidly than old potatoes, which are planted in the spring and
\nharvested in the autumn.<\/span><\/p>\n
\npeople are relieved that potatoes are getting cheaper,\u201d
\nthe source said. \u201cThis spring rice fell to 4,000KPW per kilo but then rose again.
\nThis seems to have pushed people into stocking up on food.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\npotatoes have long been cultivated as a main staple in colder regions of
\nNorth Korea, particularly Yangkang and North Hamkyung provinces. However, during
\nand after the \u2018Arduous March\u2019 (the North Korean famine of 1994-1998), southerly regions also began to plant them to help ameliorate chronic food
\nshortages.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nregions the potato harvest started last week so farm workers are able to breathe
\nmore easily,\u201d the source said. \u201cSince Management Committees and individual work
\nunits are giving potatoes to the market to obtain fertilizer for fall vegetable
\nfarming, prices have fallen to 500 KPW. People are happy with that.”<\/span><\/p>\n
\nprice of potatoes in Hyesan is 500KPW per kg, which is 200 KPW less than the same time last
\nyear. \u201cHowever, the current potato price can only last until the end of the
\nmonth,\u201d the source warned. \u201cBy July, when farmers face some of their biggest
\ndifficulties, prices look set to rise again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n