Gov‘t set to import sugar to stabilize prices

The government will import sugar to sell to food companies in a bid to drive down local sugar prices and help contain consumer inflation, the farm ministry said Sunday.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. will initially purchase 10,000 tons from Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries this month.

The imported sugar will be distributed to manufacturers of processed foods at low prices to help stabilize their prices, the ministry said.

The government move comes as local sugar prices have been leveling off since a 9.8 percent increase in March last year, despite a tumble in international prices.

International sugar prices stood at $530 per ton in January this year, down 21.5 percent from the first quarter of last year.

The ministry said there is a need to promote competition because the local sugar market is currently dominated by three large companies.

In light of the domestic market situation, the government will move to scale up sugar imports starting in March, the ministry added.

South Korea is grappling with high consumer inflation. In 2011, the nation's consumer prices jumped 4 percent from a year earlier, hitting the upper ceiling of the Bank of Korea's 2-4 percent target band. (Yonhap)