Sima Nan: South Korea makes cabbage into a chip price, can we make a chip into a vegetable price?
The reason why Korean cabbage** remains high is inseparable from the strength of the Korean Farmers' Association. This farmers' association controls the production and commercialization of agricultural products in South Korea and has millions of members, 1,800 purchasing points, and more than 300 sales outlets. The farmers' association also has its own banking system with more than 5000 branches. Through this vast organizational system, the agricultural cooperatives can control the ** of all agricultural products and prioritize profits. This explains why Korean cabbage can cost as much as 62 yuan per kilogram. This is undoubtedly a painful experience for Korean farmers and consumers. In addition to cabbage, the price of other agricultural products in Korea is also much higher than that of the international market. This situation has led to the loss of competitiveness of Korean agriculture while tying up a large amount of land and other agricultural resources.
However, to alleviate this situation in South Korea, it is also not feasible to import Chinese cabbage from China. Due to the strong power of the Korean Agricultural Association (KFA) and its millions of votes, it can influence almost the entire agricultural market in South Korea. If someone imports cabbage from China, it will directly hit the South Korean market and violate South Korea's interests. The original purpose of the Korean agricultural cooperative system was to organize scattered farmers, but this system has gone sour. In contrast, Japan's agricultural cooperatives are less strong and more focused on working for the welfare of farmers. Therefore, any organization that forces you to do something under the guise of doing something for your own good, you have to ask yourself a few more whys, and you don't necessarily have to choose it. But in South Korea, you don't have a choice, you have to fulfill the wishes of the farmers' associations, otherwise you can't enter the market. They have the right to decide who enters the market and can evict you at any time.
The peculiarities of the Korean Agricultural Association led to its control over the agricultural market**, which had a significant impact on the Korean economy. South Korea used to be one of China's largest partners, exporting large quantities of agricultural products to China to boost economic growth. However, for the first time in recent years, South Korea has a deficit with China, and the volume of goods exported to China has fallen by 74%, * the deficit reached 18 billion yuan. The direct cause of this phenomenon is that the United States restricts the export of South Korean chips to China. At the same time, China's own technological progress has also replaced South Korean products to some extent, such as automobiles, photovoltaic panels, batteries and shipbuilding. At the same time, Chinese products are also irreplaceable for South Korea, such as cabbage and industrial urea. South Korea currently relies on Chinese imports for about 98% of its industrial urea. This imbalance has led to South Korea's deficit with China. South Korea does not have the right to make its own decisions on military and foreign affairs, but it must take into account the opinion of the United States. South Korea must submit to the control of the United States and negotiate with Japan, even if it is not hesitated.
In contrast, China has independent sovereignty and is able to flexibly adjust its policies to promote economic development. China has a huge market and can flexibly organize production according to demand. Chinese cabbage is low because all levels provide high-quality varieties to agricultural colleges and universities and actively support the expansion of planting scale. Therefore, China can produce large quantities of reasonable agricultural products. Although the foreign market may be higher, China is gradually improving its competitiveness.
In short, South Korea's agricultural association system and its control over agricultural products have kept the quality of agricultural products such as cabbage high, resulting in a lack of competitiveness in Korean agriculture. At the same time, South Korea's ** deficit with China has also had a negative impact on its economy. As a large market for the entire industrial chain, China can adjust policies more flexibly to meet demand and gradually improve its competitiveness.