Ice Cream and Snacks to See Price Cuts... Up to 13.4% Reduction Starting Next Month (Updated)

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Holds Special Task Force Meeting on Livelihood Price Distribution Structure

Processed Food Price Reductions Spread Through Government-Industry Collaboration

Confectionery, bread, and ice cream companies have decided to lower the prices of certain products by up to 13.4% starting from shipments released on April 1. Following the recent price cuts in ramen and cooking oil, reductions in processed food prices are spreading to ease the burden of grocery prices, now including ice cream and snacks.

On March 19, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that it held the third meeting of the Special Task Force on Livelihood Prices, presided over by Vice Minister Kim Jonggu, to review the current price situation and inspect the distribution structure.

Snacks are displayed at Hanaro Mart Yangjae Branch in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

During the inspection process, there have also been voluntary price reductions by the industry. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has been communicating with the industry to ensure that decreases in raw material costs are reflected in consumer prices for processed foods. Last week, cooking oil and ramen companies decided to lower the prices of major products starting from April shipments.

In addition, confectionery, mass-produced bread, and ice cream companies have decided to join the price reduction initiative for April shipments, despite challenging business conditions and growing public concern about prices amid recent international uncertainty, in order to help reduce consumer burdens. According to the ministry, a total of four companies will lower the prices of 19 products by up to 13.4% starting from next month's shipments. For confectionery, the prices of seven items—including four types of biscuits and three types of candy—will decrease by an average of 2.9% to 5.6%. Mass-produced bread products will see an average price reduction of 5.4% to 6.0%, and ice cream will be reduced by an average of 8.2% to 13.4%.

Since February this year, the Distribution Structure Inspection Team, together with relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, has been working to stabilize perceived prices in the first half of the year. They are inspecting and preparing improvement measures by examining price increase factors, unfair practices, and distribution inefficiencies for major items. In the first and second meetings, they selected special management items for each ministry, taking into account relevance to public livelihoods, the level of price increases, and field opinions.

For eggs, the plan is to check for unfair trade practices, such as some layer farms demanding premiums from distributors. For pork, starting this week, the authorities are inspecting large meat processing companies for their inventory status of hind legs and whether prices are being artificially inflated. In relation to the recent collusion on pork supply prices to large supermarkets, which was sanctioned by the Fair Trade Commission, measures will be put in place to prevent recurrence, including excluding the involved companies from receiving policy funds.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will comprehensively inspect the factors driving up prices throughout the entire process—raw material supply, manufacturing, and distribution—for four daily necessities (toilet paper, disposable diapers, laundry detergent, and dishwashing liquid). The ministry plans to collaborate closely with manufacturers and distributors to stabilize consumer prices. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has requested pharmaceutical and distribution companies to share plans for over-the-counter drug price increases in advance, and is continuously monitoring pharmacy retail price trends for frequently purchased medicines.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family plans to provide sanitary products in various public facilities within pilot regions during the second half of the year through the 'Public Sanitary Pad Dream Pilot Project (tentative name),' making them accessible to all women in need. The government also expects that diversifying the distribution of sanitary pads through direct provision will help lower prices. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will shorten the cycle for inventory checks of mackerel at major cold storage warehouses from every three months to every month, starting this month, to monitor inventory accumulation. For seaweed, the ministry is continuously monitoring the supply and demand of both fresh and dried seaweed, and is seeking improvements by gathering feedback from producers and processors.

If any signs of collusion are detected during inspections, the Distribution Structure Inspection Team plans to work with the Unfair Trade Inspection Team to conduct investigations and crackdowns. Vice Minister Kim stated, "We will make every effort to inspect the distribution status of key items such as eggs and pork to stabilize public prices," adding, "We will thoroughly check for practices that, although long considered customary, may be seen as unreasonable from the public's perspective."

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