"Does the 'Dubai jjondeuk cookie' have any impact on inflation?"
Reporters asked this question twice during the Jan. consumer price trends briefing by the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) on the 3rd. The Dubai jjondeuk cookie is getting more popular, and prices are rising. One piece used to be typically 5,000 won, but high-end products priced above 10,000 won have recently appeared. As demand outpaces supply, some shops have set a purchase limit of one per person. It is a situation where the question of whether the Dubai jjondeuk cookie is a driver of inflation is likely to come up.
But the Finance Ministry and the data agency answered, "We don't know." For now, the government does not track Dubai jjondeuk cookie prices separately. The consumer price trends aggregate prices of 458 representative items. Only goods that households nationwide consume above a certain share and that can be continuously surveyed in the market can be selected as representative items. Products that are a "flash trend," like the Dubai jjondeuk cookie, cannot be reflected in consumer price trends even if they contribute to inflation.
They also said that the prices of ingredients used in the Dubai jjondeuk cookie are generally not included in the consumer price trends. The ingredients that account for the largest share of the cookie's cost are kadayif, a Middle Eastern noodle, and pistachios, a nut. Neither of these two ingredients is among the 458 representative items. In addition, marshmallows and cocoa powder, which coat the Dubai jjondeuk cookie, are not included among the representative items, so they are not reflected in consumer price trends.
However, the price of chocolate used as a filling in the Dubai jjondeuk cookie is surveyed every month. In Jan., chocolate prices rose 16.6% from a year earlier. But that was analyzed as a price increase due to poor cocoa harvests. In other words, it has nothing to do with the surge in demand for the Dubai jjondeuk cookie.
An official at the Finance Ministry said, "With consumer attention focused on the Dubai jjondeuk cookie, the government also examined price effects, but it was hard to see the cookie craze leading to an overall rise in consumer prices."
The inflation rate in Jan. was tallied at 2%. The pace of increase slowed for the second straight month. The Bank of Korea said it "recorded the price stability target (2%) level," and noted that "the inflation rate in Feb. will likely remain near 2%."