Duties on imported gas dropped to save consumers cash

Economy

Published: 28 Oct. 2022, 17:16

Duties on imported gas dropped to save consumers cash

Gas meters on the side of a low-rise residential building in Seoul. The government announced that until end of March the duties on imported LPG and LNG will be lifted to ease the burden on utility bills, especially low-income households that relies on the gas for heat during winter. [YONHAP]

A duty on imported liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will be lifted this winter to lower costs for consumers.

Imported gas is used for booking and heating in Korea, and prices have skyrocketed due to the war in Ukraine.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Friday, the lifting of duties on imported gas will reduce the monthly gas bill for households by an average of 1,400 won.

For liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) the lifting of the duty is a first. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has had its duty temporarily suspended until the end of the year. That will be extended for three months.

The average international spot price for LNG in the third quarter was $47 for 1 million British thermal unit (BTU), a sharp increase from $10 in the first quarter.

The government has raised gas bills four times this year. As a result, city gas bills have risen roughly 40 percent compared to the start of this year.

The Finance Ministry noted that the move will help low-income households and small business owners this winter. The government estimates 3.78 million low income households use propane gas, or LPG, for cooking and heating.

The government will also lift or lower duties on five imported food items.

A 10 percent tariff on mackerel will be lifted entirely and the duty on pollack will be lowered from 22 percent to 10 percent until the end of February.

30 percent tariffs on bananas, mangoes and pineapples will be lifted until the end of this year.

Duty-free imports of fresh eggs and processed eggs will be extended until the end of June.

The government will lift duties on 120,000 tons of processed corn through the end of this year.

Korea's consumer price growth peaked at 6.3 percent in July. But they are still growing above 5 percent compared to a year ago.

The strong dollar also makes imported good prices more expensive.

Prices of U.S. cherries and blueberries have soared roughly 30 percent compared to a year ago. Imported beef prices have also been rising.

Imported fruit sales this month at Emart were estimated to have dropped 3 percent compared to a year ago because of high prices, while sales of relatively cheaper Korean fruits have increased 8.2 percent during the same period.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]