Prices of imported agricultural, livestock and fishery products fell in November, while price tags on garlic and pepper surged nearly three-fold, customs data showed Wednesday.
The import price index for such products stood at 109.6 in November, down 12 percent from the same month a year earlier, according to the data released by the Korea Customs Service. The government uses 2010 as the base year.
Import prices of fishery products decreased 19.3 percent on-year in November, while livestock imports saw their average prices decrease 9 percent over the same period. The prices of imported agricultural products were also down 11.7 percent from a year earlier.
Import prices of chicken meat increased 7.2 percent over the cited period, while prices of pork and beef fell 14.7 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively.
Of imported produce, frozen garlic and dried pepper surged nearly three-fold in November from a year earlier due to rising costs in China, the largest trade partner of the Asia's fourth-largest economy.
In addition, prices of ginger, cabbage, and radish plunged 41.7 percent, 16.1 percent, and 8.6 percent, respectively, over the cited period, the data showed. (Yonhap)