By Choi Sung-jin
As chocolate makers are preparing for another sales battle on Valentine’s Day Sunday, Korean women will likely have to pay higher prices than their foreign counterparts to please their boyfriends, a consumer group said.
Some famous imported chocolate products are selling at far more expensive prices here than abroad, the Korea Consumer Agency said.
The agency has surveyed the prices of six imported brands – Godiva, Laderach, Leonidas, Royce, Michel Cluizel and See’s Candy – and found their direct purchase prices are cheaper than the domestic prices by between 3.9 percent and 43 percent, even considering transportation costs, if they buy $150 or more to get the exemption from import duties.
A gift set of See’s Candy, for instance, was sold at 195,771 won ($162), 43 percent lower than the 343,000 won it sells for here. The gift sets of Royce and Godiva were also 38.4 percent and 26.5 percent cheaper abroad, respectively, than in Korea.
“Direct purchasers need to check first whether the total payment – product price plus delivery cost – is within the tax-exemption level or not,” the agency said. “If the consumers want the products for some special events, they should also take the delivery period into account.”