Meat, produce prices rise in 1st half

In the first half of the year, the price of general industrial goods fell, while the price of agricultural and livestock products rose, the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) said yesterday.

According to the KCA’s comparison of prices through the commodity price information system T-Price, the average price of general industrial goods and agricultural and livestock products in the first half was 98.8 points, slightly lower than the 100 points last December.

But if you separate the two categories, a big difference is found. General industrial goods fell to 96.5 points and the price of agricultural and livestock products for the first half rose to 105.7.

Among the industrial goods, prices of fabric softeners, shampoos, conditioner and detergents showed large price fluctuations, especially with discount promotions by retailers and one-plus-one events.

The KCA said consumers should pay attention to such events if they want to find reasonable prices.

Meanwhile, prices of items favored on summer vacations such as instant rice, soups, soju and beer have risen slightly this July compared with last July.

On the other hand, prices of wet wipes, sun lotions and ice cream have become cheaper this summer compared with last July.

“We plan to continue monitoring the prices of industrial goods and food products so that consumers will be able to purchase products at reasonable prices,” said a spokesman for KCA. “We will continue providing information on products that have frequent or large price fluctuations.”

BY KIM JUNG-YOON [kjy@joongang.co.kr]