North Korea grain prices fall across markets as imported supply increases

Grain prices at North Korean markets fell across the board in late May 2026, reversing a sustained period of increases, according to Daily NK’s regular market price survey.

Rice sold at one Pyongyang market on May 24 for 31,500 North Korean won per kilogram, down 3.7% from the previous survey conducted on May 10. The sharpest decline was recorded in Hyesan, the provincial capital of Ryanggang province, where rice fell to 31,800 North Korean won per kilogram, a 6.2% drop over the same two-week period.

Corn prices also fell. On May 24, corn traded at 8,900 North Korean won per kilogram in Pyongyang and 8,800 North Korean won per kilogram in Sinuiju, North Pyongan province, declines of 3.3% and 3.5% respectively from the prior survey.

The drop appears to reflect a combination of factors. An increase in the supply of imported grain reaching markets has put downward pressure on prices for domestically produced grain. At the same time, market operating hours have been reduced as part of the annual rice transplanting mobilization campaign, in which large numbers of urban workers are dispatched to the countryside, leaving fewer traders active and suppressing transaction volumes.

Exchange rates and import prices also soften

Foreign currency exchange rates also eased slightly. On May 24, the North Korean won-to-dollar market rate stood at 71,800 won in Pyongyang, 71,820 won in Sinuiju, and 71,830 won in Hyesan, down about 0.4% from two weeks earlier across all three cities.

The won-to-yuan rate followed a similar pattern. In Pyongyang and Sinuiju the rate came in at 8,800 won and 8,820 won respectively, each down 100 won (approximately 1.1%) from May 10. In Hyesan, where Chinese yuan are particularly widely used given the city’s proximity to the Chinese border, the rate fell to 8,830 won, a 1.2% decline.

The softening of exchange rates appears linked to reduced foreign currency demand from smaller trading enterprises and smugglers as Chinese border enforcement has continued. Traders had expected controls on the North Korea-China border to ease somewhat following U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to China, but strict enforcement of informal trade restrictions has persisted through late May.

With foreign currency rates declining, the prices of imported goods also edged lower. Gasoline and diesel traded at an average of 81,166 North Korean won and 75,166 North Korean won per kilogram respectively across the three cities, down roughly 1.3% from the previous survey.

Key imported food staples also fell modestly. Cooking oil averaged 84,600 North Korean won per kilogram, sugar 84,913 North Korean won per kilogram, and flour 32,033 North Korean won per kilogram, representing declines of approximately 1.6%, 0.9%, and 1.5% from two weeks earlier.

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