As Shine Muscat prices continue to decline, shipment timing is emerging as a key variable ahead of Chuseok 2026. The confirmed figures should be examined separately by annual average wholesale prices, monthly prices at Garak Market, and consumer perceptions of quality.

Key Changes

According to reports citing the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation's Agricultural Products Distribution Information, the annual average wholesale price of Shine Muscats fell 45.3%, from KRW 12,363 per kilogram in 2022 to KRW 6,737 in 2025. However, this figure does not have the same meaning as changes in retail prices, prices received by growers, or prices by product grade.

Recent prices at Garak Market were also lower than a year earlier. In July 2026, the wholesale price for premium-grade Shine Muscats was approximately KRW 18,200 per 2 kilograms, down 16.3% from the same period a year earlier.

Even when prices are described as falling, comparisons can produce different results when the price unit and stage of distribution differ.

Current Status

The Agricultural Outlook Center of the Korea Rural Economic Institute forecast the August 2026 wholesale price for premium-grade Shine Muscats at approximately KRW 12,000 per 2 kilograms. The price a year earlier was approximately KRW 14,500.

In a consumer survey, 37.5% of people who had purchased Shine Muscats said that the fruit's quality had worsened compared with the past. Satisfaction with products purchased recently was 50.4%, down from 53.1% the previous year.

Impact

With declining prices and consumer concerns about quality variation, shoppers considering Shine Muscats as Chuseok gifts or for personal consumption may find it difficult to judge product condition by price alone. Gyeongsangbuk-do discussed a policy of focusing shipments on products meeting standards of at least 16 Brix and bunch weights of 400–1,000 grams, along with adjusting shipment timing through cold storage, to reduce the shipment of immature fruit.

These standards describe production-area quality-control and shipment-adjustment policies; they do not mean that sugar content alone guarantees overall product quality.

Next Checkpoint

Chuseok 2026 falls on September 25. Reports have raised concerns that prices could decline further if outdoor and rain-sheltered cultivation volumes aimed at the early holiday are shipped in concentrated quantities beginning in September.

However, whether prices actually fall further before or after Chuseok will depend on shipment volumes, demand, quality, and distribution timing. At this stage, it is more accurate to describe the situation as a forecast or concern based on the possibility of concentrated shipments, rather than as a confirmed additional decline.

The latest prices by item and grade for the relevant date should be checked again before publication.

Sources and verification date

  • [Korea Rural Economic Institute Agricultural Outlook Center: August 2026 Fruit Outlook publication information](https://maglook.krei.re.kr/main) — Checked September 2, 2026
  • [The Korea Economic Daily report](https://www.hankyung.com/article/202609020090i) — Checked September 2, 2026
  • [Yonhap News Agency report](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260902058100053?section=industry/all) — Checked September 2, 2026
  • [Edaily report](https://www2.edaily.co.kr/News/Read?mediaCodeNo=257&newsId=03217686645552896) — Checked September 2, 2026