South Korea on Tuesday removed import duties on several food items, including bananas and cabbages, as part of efforts to curb recent price hikes.

   Under the measure, approved at a Cabinet meeting, the 30 percent import tariffs on bananas, pineapples and radishes will be completely removed, along with the 27 percent tariffs on white cabbages, until the end of next month, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

   The move will soon be implemented, the ministry said.

   "The government decided to (temporarily) impose no tariffs on bananas and pineapples to meet some demand as local fruits are expected to be in short supply, and price hikes will likely materialize due to poor harvests and damage from the recent rains," the ministry said.

   In addition, the government decided to expand the amount of pork imports earlier made subject to lower tariffs in what ministry officials called "efforts to limit price hikes."

   Previously, 130,000 tons of fresh and frozen pork were subject to zero-percent tariffs. However, the entire amount of fresh pork imports, except for unsalted bacon and fatback, will now be free of import duties until the end of September.

   Import tariffs on three other agricultural imports, including malt, will be removed until the end of the year, the ministry said.

   The move comes as South Korea is striving to get a handle on soaring consumer prices. The country's consumer prices jumped 4.7 percent on-year in July, surpassing the government's annual inflation target of 4 percent for the seventh straight month.

Source: Yonhap News (Aug.2, 2011)