Ingredients for making the traditional South Korean dish of kimchi, namely Chinese cabbage, radish, chili and garlic, have been experiencing skyrocketing prices due to adverse weather, leading to a kimchi crisis for the country.

Vegetable growers and pickle producers in Shandong province have jumped on the opportunity to profit from the crisis.

In early October, a cabbage in Seoul was selling for about 62 yuan ($9.48), up 40 percent from 2019.

The soaring cabbage prices gradually stabilized in November, as another harvest season arrived and more imports came in from China. However, the prices for essential kimchi ingredients such as pepper and garlic shot up.

Kimchi, a staple of Korean cuisine [Photo/dzwww.com]

The wholesale price of dried chili peppers in South Korea reached 27,050 KRW (about 160 yuan or $24.46) per kilogram in October, up 67 percent from a year earlier, according to data from South Korea's agricultural ministry. Wholesale prices for garlic and scallions have also risen by more than 70 percent year-on-year.

Production costs have risen, and some kimchi production plants in South Korea have shut down. Of the more than 700 kimchi plants certified for food safety in South Korea, about 240 have announced closures, accounting for more than 30 percent of the total, CCTV Finance Channel reported.

Ninety percent of the kimchi imported into South Korea comes from China, with a large portion coming from Shandong, specifically the county-level city of Pingdu in Qingdao.

"The exports of cabbage this year have been significantly higher than in previous years," said Li Wenbin, a large-scale vegetable grower in Pingdu.

Li's vegetable base covers an area of 16 hectares, with half of the vegetables being exported to Japan and South Korea and half being sold domestically.

"Last year, I exported 10,000 tons of vegetables. This year, I will export 15,000 to 20,000 tons," said Li, adding that he earned 1.5 million yuan last year and expects to earn 2 million yuan by the end of this year.

According to Qingdao customs, in the first 10 months of this year, the city exported 3.1 million tons of vegetables, up 22 percent year on year.

Packaged bags of kimchi are stacked in a refrigerated warehouse at Qingdao Yuxuan Food Co in Pingdu.

"These kimchi products will be shipped to South Korea soon and will begin appearing on dinner table is just seven days' time," said Cui Qianlong, a shop manager for Yuxuan Food Co.

"The quantity of kimchi exported by our company to South Korea has increased by 30 percent in recent months compared with previous years, and the price has also increased by 20 percent," said Cui.

Data from Qingdao customs showed that in the first 10 months of this year, a total of 232,000 tons of kimchi and 208,000 tons of frozen vegetables were exported from Qingdao, both ranking first in China.