Pork Belly Prices Plummet... Tax-Free Effect Hits Hard

Consumer Agency's Distribution Channel Price Analysis Results
Doenjang Down 10.7%, Ganjang Down 8.1%

A customer is purchasing samgyeopsal at Lotte Mart. (Photo by Lotte Mart)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] As the government promotes policies such as the application of tariff quotas and exemption from value-added tax (VAT) to stabilize prices, the prices of major daily necessities like imported Samgyeopsal, soy sauce, and doenjang have decreased.

According to an analysis by the Korea Consumer Agency on the consumer prices of imported Samgyeopsal in large supermarkets and online distribution channels on the 30th, the consumer price of Canadian chilled Samgyeopsal per 100g fell by 7.9%, from 1,946 won in June to 1,792 won in October. After tariffs on Samgyeopsal from Canada and Brazil were exempted, consumer prices declined, with the price drop rate of Canadian chilled Samgyeopsal consumer prices (7.9%) exceeding the decline rate of customs clearance prices (2.2%) by 5.7 percentage points.

Price Trends of Imported Pork Belly. (Photo by Korea Consumer Agency).

For major simply processed food items exempted from VAT, the price of doenjang dropped 10.7%, from 749 won per 100g in June to 669 won in October, and soy sauce fell 8.1%, from 644 won per 100ml to 592 won. On the other hand, gochujang rose 4.7%, from 1,480 won per 100g to 1,550 won.

The Consumer Agency stated, “We will provide price trend data of key items for price stabilization to relevant government departments and continuously monitor sales channels and distributors to ensure that policy efforts to reduce costs lead to lower consumer prices.”

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