Last year, food items such as fruits and vegetables accounted for the majority of the 10 items that saw the steepest price increases.
According to the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) on the 30th, the item with the largest price increase compared to a year ago among the 458 items surveyed for consumer prices last year was pears.
Pears saw a price increase of 71.9% compared to the previous year, due to a combination of inventory shortages and decreased shipments caused by heavy rain and heat waves in 2023. The second largest price increase was for tangerines (46.2%). This was influenced by increased substitute demand due to rising apple and pear prices and poor harvests in the second half of last year.
Other items with high price increases included persimmons (36.6%) and apples (30.2%), also affected by heat wave and flood damages. Cabbage (25.0%), radishes (24.5%), seaweed (21.8%), tomatoes (21.0%), and carrots (20.9%) followed. Among the top 10 items, 9 were food items such as fruits and vegetables.
The only non-food item in the top 10 was computer repair costs (30.1%), which ranked 5th. This was influenced by rising material costs for electronic components and labor costs.
The item with the largest price decrease last year was electric rice cookers, which fell by 10.6% compared to the previous year. Mangoes (-10.4%) experienced price drops as import volumes increased due to tariff allocation, while ginger (-9.2%), potatoes (-8.5%), and oysters (-7.9%) also saw significant price declines due to increased production.