Lotte Mart said it will sell perilla leaves and cucumbers grown in smart farms from the 15th to the 21st.
The items for sale are "Naeil Farm perilla leaves (40g)" and "smart farm cucumber (each)." They are 1,990 won and 1,190 won, respectively. The "smart farm cucumbers (5-count, bag)" set will be offered at 6,990 won.
Naeil Farm perilla leaves are harvested at a smart farm in Geumsan, South Chungcheong. Smart farm cucumbers are also sourced from smart farms in Buyeo, South Chungcheong, and Jeongeup, North Jeolla.
These farms use an ICT (information and communications technology)-based cultivation system that automatically controls temperature, humidity, and light. They provide stable quality and prices even during cold snaps.
Lotte Mart plans to expand smart farm vegetables, focusing on produce sensitive to outside weather, such as perilla leaves, cucumbers, lettuce, and paprika. In particular, this year it plans to increase its smart farm vegetable volume by about 20% from a year earlier.
Kim Si-eun, merchandise planner (MD) of the Lotte Mart and Super vegetable team, said, "With the cold snap destabilizing the supply of vegetables, prices for leafy and fruiting vegetables have been rising recently," and added, "To provide customers with uniform-quality vegetables year-round, we will identify alternative sourcing areas such as vegetables stored with CA."
CA storage refers to an advanced storage technique that controls temperature, humidity, and the concentrations of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air to slow the aging of produce and maintain its taste and freshness.