Korea to temporally exempt tariffs on heating gas, select food imports to ease inflation

[Photo by Lee Seung-hwan]

The South Korean government is temporarily removing tariff on imported gas for heating and selected food items to help ease utility pressure on inflation in the colder weather and livelihoods from strong prices.

The government announced Friday that it will exempt tariff on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports used for heating until March 31, 2023.

This will cut the monthly city gas bill by an estimated 1,400 won ($0.99) per household, said the government.

Heating cost has jumped sharply for households this year as LNG price surged to $47 per 1 million BTU in the third quarter from $10 in the first quarter of 2021. City gas rate was raised four times this year to push up the bill by nearly 40 percent.

Tariff on select food items will be removed temporarily. Tax rate on imported mackerel will be cut to 0 percent from current 10 percent. Tariff on banana, mango and select fruit imports will be removed. Currently, 30 percent tariff is levied on such fruits.

The government is also extending the current zero tariff program on eggs and processed egg products to June next year amid signs of supply shortage due to the recently bird flu issue.

Corn for processing will be newly included in the list of imported items subject to tariff quota system, which allows the government to adjust tariff rates on imported goods within a specified quantity.

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