The government will release over 30,000 tons of napa cabbage before the Chuseok holiday to stabilize prices. It will expand the available quantities of apples and pears and fully resume imports of chicken from Brazil. It also plans to conduct discount sales of Korean beef and imported beef in time for the summer vacation season.
On the 2nd, Acting Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance Lee Hyung-il held a meeting on price relations and announced these measures. The Vice Minister urged, "Promptly implement the follow-up measures for the price policy announced on June 16 and quickly execute the price stabilization projects included in the supplementary budget."
At the meeting, relevant ministries decided to increase the government's available quantity for summer napa cabbage from the existing 23,000 tons to 36,000 tons to stabilize supply. It was decided to release all of this before the Chuseok holiday. Potatoes, which have seen recent price increases, will be promoted for contracted cultivation, and the government's available quantities of apples and pears will also be expanded.
To reduce the gap in imported chicken, Thailand chicken will be imported starting at the end of this month. Thai chicken is about 1.5 times more expensive than Brazilian chicken, and as a result, the quantity imported has not been large.
From mid-next month, only chicken produced in regions free from avian influenza (AI) will be imported from Brazil. Brazil declared itself free from AI on the 18th of last month, and our government plans to fully resume imports of Brazilian chicken after assessments.
In light of the summer vacation season, Korean beef will hold a discount event of up to 50%, and imported beef will cooperate with distributors to promote discounted sales of refrigerated grilling items, with discounts reaching up to 40%. The area of seaweed farming will also increase from the existing 66,000 hectares to 67,000 hectares.
The Vice Minister said, "To alleviate the cost burden on the processed food industry, I will improve the allocation criteria this week so that the food raw material allocation tariff volumes are prioritized for actual using companies."
The government plans to implement a bill to expand the electronic provision of food labeling information, such as QR codes, to prevent changes in food labeling from leading to packaging changes and expense burdens during the third quarter.
The Vice Minister stated, "I will closely monitor domestic and international energy prices and supply situations," and directed to continue on-site inspections through the inter-agency oil market inspection team to crack down on illegal actions such as the sale of fake oil.
He continued, "To ensure that citizens can enjoy their vacations comfortably without being overcharged, we plan to work in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and local governments as well as the private sector to rigorously manage food prices, accommodation fees, and usage fees for recreational items by the end of August."
The government will activate a "public-private joint price inspection team" to conduct on-site inspections at major vacation spots, and if violations of the price display system are detected during inspections, penalties will be implemented, including fines. If unfair practices such as collusion are confirmed, reports will be submitted to the Fair Trade Commission.