South Korea’s government has taken action to increase imports of essential items as food prices spike in the wake of heavy snowstorms and an outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
South Korea’s Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry announced last Thursday the country’s customs had cleared 300 tonnes of napa cabbage, following imports of 200 tonnes earlier in the month, according to a report in Korean newspaper the Dong-A Ilbo
The report stated the ministry would import an additional 1,500 tonnes of the cabbage, which is used to make kimchi, to make up for the shortfall in domestic production.
The imported produce was intended to help stabilise the price of napa cabbage in South Korea, which has doubled in the past year, the newspaper reported.
The ministry also increased the tariff-rated quota for garlic by 12,000 tonnes and that for onions by 5,000 tonnes.
