Meeting with Major Food Companies
Government Requests Cooperation in Stabilizing Food Prices
Tariff Quotas and Support Measures Discussed to Ease Cost Burdens
Ministry Pledges Close Communication and Monitoring with Industry
On the 13th, the government met with major food companies such as CJ CheilJedang, Nongshim, and Lotte Chilsung Beverage to request cooperation in stabilizing food prices.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs held a meeting chaired by Kang Hyung-seok, Director of Agricultural Innovation Policy, with executives from major food companies at the Korea Food Industry Association in Seoul. Thirteen companies attended the meeting, including CJ CheilJedang, SPC Samlip, Namyang Dairy Products, Nongshim, Dongseo Food, Dongwon F&B, Daesang, Lotte Wellfood, Lotte Chilsung Beverage, Samyang Foods, Orion, Pulmuone Foods, and Haitai Confectionery.
Kang Hyung-seok, Director of Agricultural Innovation Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, is presiding over a meeting of major food companies held at the Korea Food Industry Association on the 13th. (Photo by Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs)
The meeting was organized to explain items subject to the 2025 tariff quota, identify industry difficulties and discuss solutions, and explore cooperation measures between the government and industry to stabilize food prices.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the consumer price inflation rate for processed foods, which remained in the 1% range last year, recorded 2.7% in January and 2.9% in February this year. At the meeting, the ministry expressed concerns about price increases in processed foods due to changes in external conditions such as exchange rates, oil prices, and supply chain instability, as well as rising raw material costs for cocoa and coffee, and increases in labor and energy costs.
The government is supporting food companies by applying tariff quotas on 13 items including cocoa beans, coffee concentrate, sugar, orange concentrate, and tomato paste to reduce cost burdens, as well as through various measures such as exemption from import value-added tax and funding for raw material purchases.
From the 1st of next month, the list of items subject to tariff quotas will be expanded. At a meeting chaired by Minister Song Mi-ryeong of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the 11th of last month, the food industry conveyed the cost burden of food raw materials such as cocoa, whose import prices have surged. The ministry decided, after consultation with related ministries, to apply tariff quotas to six additional items including cocoa powder and fruit cocktail.
Director Kang said, "We ask the food industry to also participate in the government's efforts to stabilize prices. The government will continue to communicate closely with the food industry to identify and resolve difficulties, and will closely monitor and manage price and market conditions."
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