November 11, 2011

South Korean beef, pork prices soar last month

Prices of South Korean pork and beef imports soared in October from a year earlier, the customs agency said Thursday (Nov 10).

According to data provided by the Korea Customs Service, prices of pork jumped 20.2% on year in October, while those of beef surged 15.4% over the same period.

Their prices increased 1.6% and 0.8% from a month earlier, respectively, the data showed.

Chicken meat prices also jumped 22.2% from last year and posted a 2.6% gain from a month earlier.

The price hikes of those meats could put upward pressure on inflation, which has recently showed signs of abating.

South Korea's consumer prices rose 3.9% last month from a year earlier, slowing from the 4.3% on year gain in September.

The customs agency also noted that prices of fishery imports such as mackerel, pollack and crab jumped compared with a month earlier.