Surging raw material prices and logistics costs driven by the U.S.-Iran war have triggered a sweeping wave of supply price increases across a wide range of products distributed in Korea's wholesale market. The price hikes span not only industrial goods such as packaging materials and PVC pipes but also consumer goods like pots and frying pans, raising concerns about a chain reaction of inflation.
According to a supply price list from online wholesaler 3MRO obtained by the Seoul Economic Daily on the 30th, the company raised prices on 121 products effective the same day. Price increases ranged from 1% to 16.8%, with 18 items seeing hikes of more than 10%. The increases covered industrial goods such as drill bits (5–6%) as well as consumer products including cafeteria tray cases (16.8%) and cookware (approximately 15%).
3MRO is one of the major online wholesale sites used by sellers who list products on e-commerce platforms such as Coupang (CPNG, NYSE), Gmarket, 11st and Naver (035420.KS). Sellers source products through the site, add their margins and then list them for sale on e-commerce platforms.
The large-scale price increase by 3MRO is the first in four years and four months, since December 2021 when the company raised prices amid a global logistics crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic that sparked inflation not seen in 40 years.
Offline wholesalers are also signaling a round of price hikes starting next month. A PVC specialist building materials store in Doksan-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul announced it would raise prices on all PVC pipe and fitting product lines by 18–20% for shipments from April 1. Seoheung E&Pack, a wholesale supplier of bakery packaging and food shopping bags, also notified its clients that it would adjust prices sequentially starting in April.
Experts say the price increases and supply instability in the wholesale market will inevitably translate into higher consumer prices. Some analysts warn that the price shock could arrive faster than expected, given that wholesale price hikes have already reached consumer goods, which typically reflect cost changes more slowly than industrial goods. "It is patently obvious that wholesale price increases will lead to higher consumer prices," said Lee Jung-hwan, a professor of financial economics at Hanyang University. "Consumer prices will likely rise by this summer, and if the Middle East crisis drags on, this could turn into a structural price shift."
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