The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Monday that beef will be supplied at 1.3 times usual volumes and pork at 1.4 times, while egg supplies, including imports, will reach 2.4 times normal levels.
Government-backed discounts and producer levy funds will cut prices of hanwoo, beef from Korea's native cattle breed, by up to 50 percent and pork by about 20 percent.
Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung announced the plan during a visit to a livestock auction house run by the Nonghyup farm cooperative in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province.
"We will do our utmost to supply livestock products stably so that consumers can enjoy a happy Chuseok," she said.
Chuseok, the autumn harvest holiday falling on Sept. 25 this year, brings families back to their hometowns for gatherings and ancestral rites.
Traditional holiday tables often include braised beef short ribs, beef soup and jeon, pan-fried savory pancakes that commonly use eggs.
Demand typically peaks in the three weeks before Chuseok, when slaughterhouses add weekend shifts.
Cattle slaughter during that period is forecast at about 96,000 head this year, down 13.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Rural Economic Institute.
The supply increase comes as higher food prices raise the cost of preparing for the holiday.
A four-person ancestral rite table costs 302,500 won ($225.1) at traditional markets, up 1.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Price Research Center.
AJP Takeaways
- South Korea will increase beef supplies to 1.3 times normal levels, pork to 1.4 times and eggs to 2.4 times ahead of Chuseok on Sept. 25.
- Cattle slaughter during the peak holiday-demand period is forecast at about 96,000 head, down 13.7 percent from a year earlier.
- Government-backed discounts will cut hanwoo beef prices by up to 50 percent and pork by about 20 percent as holiday food costs continue to rise.
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