South Korea significantly reduces tariffs on imported fruits to ease price increases.

The South Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs recently announced that it will lower the tariff rates on imported bananas, pineapples, and mangoes from 30% to 5% in order to address the issue of rising import prices of fruits potentially caused by a high exchange rate. According to the South Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the tariff reduction policy for bananas, pineapples, and mangoes will apply to imported goods starting from the 12th. A spokesperson from the ministry stated: "Products benefiting from the tariff reduction policy are expected to start hitting the market in mid-month." The tariff rate reduction from 30% to 5% means that the tariff on imported mangoes worth 10,000 Korean won will decrease from 3,000 Korean won to 500 Korean won. Due to the high exchange rate pushing up the prices of imported fruits, the South Korean government proactively reduced the tariffs. According to data from the Statistics Korea, from December 2024 to December of last year, the prices of imported fruits denominated in US dollars decreased by 2.1%, while the prices denominated in Korean won increased by 0.2%. The depreciation of the Korean won (rising exchange rate) led to an increase in the import costs of fruits, which in turn pushed up the prices denominated in Korean won. Park Jeong-hoon, Director of the Food Policy Division at the South Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated: "The rising prices of some imported fruits are due to the impact of crop failures in exporting countries such as the Philippines and the high exchange rate, but the supply of domestic fruits in South Korea remains stable." Image source: chosun2026 International Fruit and Vegetable Report. All rights reserved. For reprint permission, please contact the International Fruit and Vegetable Report and credit the source.