Rising Tangerine Prices Make Mouths Water... Fresh Food Index Sees Largest Increase in 32 Years

February Consumer Price Index Rises 3.1%

Consumer prices, which recorded a 2% increase last January, have recovered to the 3% range again after a month. The still high prices of agricultural, livestock, and fishery products during the Lunar New Year holiday, along with a significant rise in service prices, are the main causes.

On the 6th, Statistics Korea announced that the consumer price index for February rose 3.1% compared to the same month last year.

This is the first time in a month since it recorded 2.8% in January.

Prices of goods rose by 3.9%, driving up last month's inflation. Of the total 3.1% increase, 1.73 percentage points were contributed by goods. In particular, agricultural, livestock, and fishery products rose 11.4% compared to the same month last year, pushing the inflation rate up by 0.8 percentage points.

The fresh food index, composed of 55 items including fish, vegetables, and fruits, rose 20.0% compared to the same month last year. This is the largest increase in 3 years and 5 months since September 2020 (20.2%). Among them, fresh fruits increased by 41.2%, marking the largest increase in 32 years and 5 months since September 1991, when it rose 43.9%.

Fruit prices rose 38.3%. By major items, apples recorded a 71.0% increase compared to the same month last year, maintaining high prices, while tangerines rose 78.1%, tomatoes 56.3%, strawberries 23.3%, and pears 61.1%. On the other hand, mango prices fell 10.5% as the government expanded fruit imports.

Vegetables and seaweed prices rose 11.3%. By item, rice increased 9.2%, green onions 50.1%, while onions and carrots fell 7% and 15.7%, respectively.

Industrial products also rose 2.1%, pushing up overall prices by 0.70 percentage points. By item, imported passenger cars rose 8.5%, T-shirts 10.4%, and gasoline 2.0%. Conversely, diesel and kerosene prices fell 5.7% and 6.9%, respectively.

Electricity, gas, and water prices rose 4.9%, contributing 0.19 percentage points to the overall inflation. Electricity rates increased 4.3%, city gas 5.6%, district heating fees 12.1%, and water charges 2.7%.

Service prices also rose 2.5% compared to the same month last year, pushing up overall inflation by 1.3 percentage points.

In particular, personal services saw a modest increase of 0.5%, but contributed 1.15 percentage points to the overall inflation. Among these, dining-out prices rose 3.8%, raising inflation by 0.53 percentage points. Chicken prices increased 5.4%, insurance service fees 17.9%, apartment management fees 3.6%, and cafeteria meal costs 4.7%.

Public services also rose 2.0%. City bus fares increased by 11.7%, and taxi fares rose 13.0%.