World / Coffee packet selling for over ₹7,000, tea for over ₹5,000 in North Korea: Report

Seoul: North Korea's food crisis, which supreme leader Kim Jong-un has admitted, appears to be bigger than what it seemed as reports claimed that a packet of coffee in capital Pyongyang has gone up to $100 ( ₹7,381 approx). The price of a small packet of black tea has gone up to $70 ( ₹5,167) while one kilogram of banana costs $45 ( ₹3,336 approx). According to NK News, a bottle of shampoo is selling at $200 in Pyongyang.

Rice and fuel prices have remained stable while the prices of imported products like sugar, soybean oil and flour have skyrocketed. In the four-day meeting of the ruling party, which ended on June 19, Kim admitted the crisis and swore to find a redressal to the situation.

According to CNN, the depth of the crisis remains unknown as North Korea has not disclosed the scale of the shortage, but quoting the Food and Agriculture Organization's estimate, CNN said that the country is short of approximately 860,000 tons of food which is equivalent to over two months of national supply.

The crisis started during winter of 2020 and 2021, which was a fallout of the decrease in the import owing to the pandemic. In May, it was reported that the farmers were asked to donate two litres of their urine daily to make fertiliser as for fertiliser the country is dependent on China. And the borders have been closed and trade remains suspended owing to the pandemic.

In April, Kim was reported to have asked his officials to prepare for an "Arduous March", a term related to North Korea's devastating famine in the early 1990s. Only this time, it would be more difficult, Kim was believed to have said to his officials.