“Even Raising Cattle Means Losses….” Livestock Groups’ Backlash Grows Over NongHyup Feed’s Feed Price Hike

[Korea Agricultural Technology Newspaper = Reporter Lee Hyun-woo] Following private feed companies, NongHyup Feed has also raised feed prices, prompting fierce backlash from livestock farmers. Livestock producer groups such as the National Korean Beef Association and the Korean Pork Producers Association issued successive statements and strongly urged the immediate withdrawal of NongHyup Feed’s unilateral plan to raise feed prices.

▲Why are feed prices rising?=According to the price increase rates of major feed companies obtained by this newspaper, Cargill Agri Purina raised prices by 20 won per kg starting May 18, as private feed companies continued to increase prices.

NongHyup Feed also announced that it would raise feed prices for all livestock species by 39 won per kg starting June 15. This is an increase of about 7.9% from the existing price. In addition, Anyang Union Feed also announced plans to raise prices by about 40 won per kg starting June 17. Following private feed companies, companies related to NongHyup are also joining the wave of price hikes.

Feed companies say that a feed price hike is unavoidable, citing significant management difficulties caused by rising grain prices, oil prices, and freight costs, as well as the sharply rising exchange rate in the aftermath of the U.S.-Iran war and other factors.

An official from NongHyup Feed explained, “The rise in the exchange rate dealt the most direct blow to feed prices. Normally, when the exchange rate rises by 10 won, the impact on feed prices is at least 6.3 won,” adding, “With the exchange rate rising by about 100 won compared to the end of last year, it negatively affected management pressure.”

In fact, according to the won-dollar exchange rate in the Bank of Korea’s Economic Statistics System, the average exchange rate in May this year was 1,490.11 won, up 67.89 won from the 2025 average exchange rate of 1,422.22 won. Reflecting the claim of an official from Company A, this means that the exchange rate increase alone creates a factor for a feed price hike of about 42.7 won.

Another official in the feed industry also explained, “Private feed companies already carried out price hikes at the beginning of the year, but at that time NongHyup delayed the timing of its increase as much as possible to share farmers’ pain,” adding, “The reason NongHyup’s increase appears relatively large this time is because it had been suppressing the factors for price hikes until now.”

▲Hundreds of thousands of won in losses per head… “A feed price hike is tightening the final noose”=As feed companies continue taking price hike measures, dissatisfaction among livestock farmers is intensifying. In particular, Korean beef cattle farmers, who have suffered management difficulties for years due to falling hanwoo prices, are reacting strongly.

According to the “2025 Livestock Production Cost Survey Results” released by the National Data Agency, fattening cattle recorded a net loss of 999,000 won per head, while breeding cattle recorded a net loss of 861,000 won per head. Both fattening cattle and breeding cattle have been in the red for four consecutive years. In other words, each time a farmer raises one cow, they are taking on debt approaching 1 million won. Beef cattle also posted a loss of 1,493,000 won per head. In this situation, even NongHyup Feed, which should serve as a price support in the feed market following private companies, has joined the line of price hikes, pushing the pressure felt by farmers to the extreme.

What has made farmers even more furious is that this decision was made unilaterally, completely neutralizing the “feed consultative body” that had been set up for mutual coexistence. During last year’s turmoil over feed and slaughtering fee increases, the Korean Beef Association and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation had agreed to form a feed consultative body to improve transparency in price-setting and seek coexistence measures. The association had continuously demanded through the consultative body that the scale of the increase be minimized and buffer measures be prepared, but NongHyup Feed pushed through the increase plan in the final decision-making process without communication.

Criticism is also growing over the timing of the announcement. The hanwoo industry took issue with the release of the increase plan as if it had been waiting for the June 3 local elections to end, saying it was “a heartless decision that put the organization’s profits and losses ahead of farmers’ suffering once the political burden disappeared.”

In particular, there is criticism that this increase runs directly counter to the current government’s price stabilization policy. At a press conference marking the first anniversary of his inauguration on June 8, President Lee Jae-myung said, “We will mobilize the nation’s capabilities to the fullest extent possible to minimize the pace of price increases,” and at a senior aides’ meeting he also instructed officials to come up with effective measures to stabilize agricultural, livestock, and fishery product prices. Accordingly, while private food companies have been successively lowering prices for products such as ramen and cooking oil, NongHyup, which should play a public-interest role, is being criticized for moving alone in the opposite direction.

▲Livestock groups strongly demand withdrawal of the feed price hike=In a statement released on the 12th, the National Korean Beef Association said, “Far from presenting its own management improvement efforts or self-rescue measures, NongHyup Feed is shifting all burdens onto farmers through the easy method of raising prices,” and strongly demanded △the immediate withdrawal of the unilateral feed price hike plan △measures to share the pain with farmers △measures by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to stabilize production costs. Chairman Min Kyung-cheon warned, “If our legitimate demands are not accepted and the price hike is pushed through, we will mobilize all organizational power to launch a high-intensity struggle to protect the right to survival of 80,000 hanwoo farm households nationwide.”

The Korean Pork Producers Association also released a statement on the 17th saying, “We strongly condemn NongHyup Feed’s unilateral feed price hike that ignores sharing the pain with farmers.”

The association criticized NongHyup Feed, saying, “By prioritizing only management balance and profitability and increasing the burden on farmers, NongHyup Feed has abandoned the spirit of cooperatives and the value of coexistence,” and urged △the withdrawal of the feed price hike and disclosure of cost details behind the increase △the preparation of coexistence measures that share the pain with farmers △fundamental reform that places top priority on increasing farm income and reducing production costs.