The South Korean Finance Ministry announced a reduction in tariffs on seven agricultural products and other food imports, including cabbages and grapes, from May to address persistent high inflation. This adjustment, facilitated through the tariff-rate quota system, allows the government to modify basic tariff rates on certain imports temporarily.
The aim is to stabilize prices and safeguard domestic producers. Prices of several products, including cabbage, Chinese cabbage, carrot, and grape, remain unstable, and the government will remove tariffs within next month, stated First Vice Finance Minister Kim Byoung-hwan at an economic vice ministers' meeting in Seoul.
He emphasized the priority of price stabilization to support the recovery of domestic demand and the well-being of citizens. Despite a steady decline in inflation, with consumer prices rising 3.1 percent last month due to high costs of fruits, fresh foods, and energy, the reduction has been slower than anticipated. The government targets a 2 percent inflation rate by year-end.
Source: en.yna.co.kr