Food sales to merchants around the marketplaces of Hyesan, Ryanggang province, are booming as freezing temperatures drive demand for warm, affordable meals, though sources say the spike reflects temporary weather conditions rather than economic recovery.
“Recently, sellers of warm foods like noodles or tofu stew in marketplaces in Hyesan are selling out,” a Daily NK source in Ryanggang province said recently. The source requested anonymity for security reasons. “In the past, they would usually have leftovers even after working all day, but nowadays, they often sell out in just two hours.”
The food sellers mentioned by the source offer their wares not to ordinary people, but to other market merchants.
They sell dishes at much lower prices than restaurants, with a bowl of noodles going for between 1,500 and 2,000 North Korean won ($1.88 to $2.50), about three or four times cheaper than at an ordinary noodle restaurant.
“With prices skyrocketing, including for rice, the food sellers have increased their prices by 500 to 1,000 won ($0.63 to $1.25) since last year, but even the higher prices are pretty cheap,” the source said. “Food sellers are reducing portion sizes while keeping their price hikes as small as possible.”
Over the last couple of years, market merchants have eaten out much less as their incomes have dropped due to the nation’s economic troubles. Accordingly, food sellers targeting other market merchants had often failed to sell out their stock.
Weather-driven demand lifts struggling vendors
However, with freezing cold temperatures continuing since last month, food sellers are doing a roaring trade as merchants flock to them in search of warm food.
“Food sellers have seen their sales grow as merchants who skip lunch to sell their wares at the market come to them for warm, soupy food that can fill their bellies in the cold weather,” the source said. “They often sell out everything they’ve prepared far faster than before.”
Food sellers are very excited about this.
“Before, we struggled because we ran in the red due to the leftover noodles, but now, we’re doing well since we don’t have to worry about leftover food,” food sellers say. “Nowadays, we don’t even know how cold it is because we immediately sell out, even if we increase the number of bowls we prepare.”
The same trend has emerged in other regions.
“In the markets of Pyongsong, more merchants want warm, soupy foods like noodles or gukbap (soup mixed with rice),” a source in South Pyongan province said, who almost requested anonymity for security reasons. “This is because after working seven or eight hours outside in the freezing cold, they want to chase away the cold with some warm soup.”
“Food sold in the market has to be cheap, and with dishes sold for 2,000 won ($2.50) or so, it’s relatively inexpensive,” the source said. “Since they give you plenty of broth, demand from merchants for warm, soupy foods is unlikely to fall until the spring.”
However, people say this boom in food sales does not signal an economic recovery.
“Food sellers’ sales have climbed for a bit due to temporary factors like the cold. I don’t think this means marketplaces have recovered,” the source said. “We can talk of the marketplace recovering when food sales are brisk during normal times, not just the cold.”
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