By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
For lovers of a green bottle of 17-year-old Ballantine's whiskey, here is some disturbing news. Its import price is about 43,500 won or $40 with retail prices from a minimum 110,000 won to 128,000 won. When it reaches a fancy restaurant, it can go up to 400,000 won a bottle.
The import price of the 17-year premier whiskeys in a 700-milliliter-bottle ranges between 27,858 won and 56,327 won, according to the Korea Customs Service, unbelievably cheap compared with the over 100,000 won charged in liquor stores. Kaja &Wine says its retail price of a 17-year Ballantine's is 110,000 won, while Lotte Department Store in downtown Seoul prices it at 128,000 won.
The customs office has published the import prices of 90 consumer goods in a measure determined at a task force meeting to stabilize the livelihood of the public. Faced with growing inflationary pressure, the government hopes the publication of prices, which includes insurance, freight and taxes on top of the cost, will remove bubbles in prices.
A pair of brand name jeans for women, such as Levi's and Calvin Klein, cost between 24,897 won and 45,968 won when they are imported. Though the jeans were made as OEM goods in Mexico where the labor cost is cheap, they are sold at over 100,000 won in department stores in Seoul. Some jeans are priced over 200,000 won.
The average import price of brand name jeans for men was 27,715 won.
The customs office reported the average import price French lipstick from Atelier, Bourjois, Christian Dior, Clarins and Guerlain, was 6,832 won _ the most expensive was 9,649 won. These lipsticks, however, were sold for between 30,000 won and 40,000 won at Hyundai Department Store.
Agricultural goods were not an exception. Samgyeopsal, or three-layered bacon, the favorite part of pork in Korea, was imported at 3,846 won per kilogram on average from Belgium. Samgyeopsal for one person, or 200 grams, costs around 8,000 won at pork restaurants in Seoul.
Frozen beef ribs from Australia were imported at 6,001 won per kilogram on average.
At Lotte Mart, however, a pack of Tasmania beef rib was sold at 12,500 won per kilogram. At Lotte.com, a four-kilogram-pack of Australian beef ribs, was priced at 157,000 won, or nearly 40,000 won per kilogram.
E-mart sold a 3.6-kilogram-pack of beef rib for 115,000 won.
A spokesperson at E-mart, however, said they don't get much of a margin. ``We don't have the power to set consumer prices. We get a small margin after getting the beef from importers.'' He said one should consider the cost to run shops, and labor and managerial costs among others before comparing consumer prices with import prices. A Lotte official said that for Ballantine's, it pays 102,400 won per bottle including a 60-percent import duty.
The government said it would publish import prices each quarter, adding products whose prices have risen drastically to the open-price list.
``The opening provides consumers with information on import prices for the first time. It is expected to lead to sound consumption behavior, and sellers will try to refrain from raising prices,'' a spokesman of the customs office said.