Daesang Co., South Korea's major ready-made kimchi producer, said Tuesday its sales in the third quarter rose 11 percent on-year as consumers turned to packaged kimchi amid sky-high cabbage prices.

Rising prices of the pickled side dish's key ingredient, coupled with low inventory of its products, led to increased consumer demand, the company said.

Packaged kimchi products are on display at a local super market. (Yonhap)

The producer price index of agricultural products jumped a whopping 18.3 percent on-month in August -- the largest hike since September 2010 -- as the output was hit this summer by the record-breaking hot spell, central bank data showed.

"We have secured enough napa cabbage from all across the country for a stable supply," a company official said, adding that the company increased daily output from 70 tons to 100 tons this summer.

"We temporarily increased the price of some of products due to increased raw material prices following the heat wave," the official said, adding that the price was lowered back last week. (Yonhap)

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