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

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of South Korea, the tariff reduction policy for bananas, pineapples, and mangoes will apply to imported goods starting from the 12th. An official from the ministry said: "Products benefiting from the tariff reduction policy are expected to start hitting the market in mid-month." The tariff rate has been reduced from 30% to 5%, meaning the tariff on a 10,000 Korean won worth of mangoes will drop from 3,000 Korean won to 500 Korean won. Due to the high exchange rate pushing up the price of imported fruits, the South Korean government proactively reduced the tariffs. According to data from the Statistics Korea, the price of imported fruits in USD decreased by 2.1% from December 2024 to December of last year, while the price in Korean won increased by 0.2%. The depreciation of the Korean won (an increase in the exchange rate) led to a rise in the import cost of fruits, which in turn pushed up the prices in Korean won. Park Jeong-hoon, Director of the Food Policy Division at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated: "The price increase of some imported fruits is due to crop failures in exporting countries such as the Philippines and the impact of the high exchange rate, but the supply of domestic fruits in South Korea remains stable."