Starting Next Week, Lunar New Year Price Response System Activated... Focused Management on 17 Items

Additional Import of 30 Million Eggs Scheduled This Month

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The government will activate a price response system starting next week to focus on managing 17 items including cabbage, radish, apples, and pears in preparation for next year's Lunar New Year holiday. Eggs, which still approach 6,000 won per tray (30 eggs), will see an import of 30 million units within this month.

On the 10th, the government announced this at a policy review meeting and price-related vice ministers' meeting chaired by Lee Eokwon, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, held at the Government Seoul Office. Given the consumer price inflation rate of 3.7% in November, indicating significant price pressure, the response system is being activated three weeks earlier than usual for the Lunar New Year.

The government designated 17 items including cabbage, radish, apples, pears, chestnuts, jujubes, beef and pork, chicken, eggs, pollock, squid, cutlassfish, mackerel, croaker, dried anchovies, and rice as key items for price stabilization during the Lunar New Year peak season and will manage them intensively.

To this end, a joint special response team led by the Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance will be activated starting next week. Key ministries responsible for major peak season items, such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, will operate supply stabilization task forces within their departments. These ministries will monitor price and supply trends of the 17 items.

In preparation for adverse weather, the government will stockpile winter cabbage, and due to strong prices caused by reduced production this year, 10,000 tons of garlic will be imported. To proactively respond to price instability of eggs, 30 million eggs will be imported within this month.

To ensure continued imports of eggs and egg products next year, the government decided to extend the application of tariff quotas (from 8?30% to 0%) for a volume of 100 million eggs per month for six months. To ensure that the fuel tax reduction effect is quickly reflected in petroleum prices, a public-private joint market inspection team is conducting on-site inspections and encouraging the industry to participate in lowering sales prices.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.