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Sales of small-sized food products soar amid rising single-person households

Aug. 2, 2017 - 11:09 By Catherine Chung
The sales of small-sized food products jumped in the first half of this year on rising demands from one-person households, industry data showed Wednesday.

According to E-Mart Inc., South Korea's largest discount chain operator, sales of small fruit containers rose 71.9 percent on-year in the January-July period. 

South Korea`s largest discount chain operator, on Aug. 2, 2017, shows a watermelon slice packaged in small containers for single- or two-person households. (Yonhap)

Auction, a leading online marketplace, said the sales of mini watermelons, about one-fourth the size of a whole watermelon, surged 1,969 percent on-year during the same period.

Sales of rice packages weighing 5 kilograms or less increased 32 percent, the online shopping mall said. The staple grain for Koreans usually had been sold in much larger packages.

South Korea`s largest discount chain operator, on Aug. 2, 2017, shows slices of raw fish packaged in small containers for single- or two-person households. (Yonhap)

The surging consumption of small-sized food products is largely attributed to the rapid increase in the number of one-person households in the country.

According to government data, the number of single-member households came to 5.28 million last year, accounting for 27.8 percent of all household types. (Yonhap)