It was found that the project undertaken by Gyeonggi Province to promote discount coupons for agricultural and marine products last year contributed to reducing the price burden on consumers and promoting the consumption of local agricultural products.

According to the Gyeonggi Provincial Government on January 14, the province undertook a three-month discount coupon support project for agricultural products from October to December last year, during which about KRW 115.5 billion of Gyeonggi Province’s agricultural and marine products were sold offline and online.

Offline sales, including large, medium and small supermarkets and local food stores, amounted to KRW 36.7 billion, while online sales, including marketplaces, were KRW 78.8 billion. By product, sales of rice totaled KRW 64 billion, general agricultural products KRW 10.2 billion, fruits KRW 5.1 billion, livestock products KRW 23.4 billion, seafood KRW 700 million, and agri-food KRW 12.1 billion.

The discount coupon support program for agricultural products played a role in reducing the price burden on consumers, according to a survey. According to annual consumer price trends for 2023 released by Statistics Korea, the consumer price inflation rate for agricultural and marine products in Gyeonggi Province was 2.3 percent last year, 0.8 percentage points lower than the national average of 3.1 percent. This was the lowest rate among the nation’s 17 metropolitan areas, with fellow metropolitan areas Seoul and Incheon posting increases of 3.7 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively.

Gyeonggi’s agricultural and marine discount coupon project offers a 20% discount per person (up to KRW 20,000 per person per day) to anyone who purchases agricultural and marine goods produced in Gyeonggi Province. Including large, medium, and small supermarkets, local food stores, eco-friendly stores, and online shopping malls, 1,425 companies participated in the project.

To overcome the economic crisis, Gyeonggi Province allocated KRW 25 billion for the ‘Gyeonggi Agricultural Product Discount Coupon Support Project’ in the first supplementary budget in September last year, and the project began in earnest in October with the Gyeonggi Agriculture and Fisheries Promotion Agency.

“Analysis shows that the Gyeonggi project to support discount coupons for agricultural and marine products has had a significant impact on reducing consumer price inflation in Gyeonggi Province… I hope it has helped Gyeonggi residents cope with difficult conditions such as inflation and economic recession,” said Park Jong-il, Director of the Agricultural Products Distribution Division of Gyeonggi Province.