Ice cream prices up 10.7% in July amid heat wave in Korea

[Photo by Park Hyung-ki]

Prices of ice cream in South Korea have soared more than 10 percent in July amid the heat wave, outpacing inflation by nearly five times.

According to Statistics Korea on Monday, the consumer price index for ice cream stood at 118.99 in July, up 10.7 percent from the same month last year. The figure is 4.7 times higher than the entire inflation of 2.3 percent.

The inflation rate for ice cream reached 13.7 percent in March, an all-time high since 2009, before falling to 10.5 percent in April and 5.9 percent in May. The rate, however, bounced back in June to 9.4 percent.

The rise came after ice cream manufacturers raised the prices, citing factors such as increases in the prices of raw materials, labor and logistics costs, and electricity and gas fees.

Lotte Wellfood Co. raised the supply prices of its ice cream bars by 25 percent in February, including Screw Bar, Crunch Bar, and Watermelon Bar.

Binggrae Co. also raised the price of Melona, B.B.Big, and Supercone in February.

Haitai IceCream Co., a subsidiary of Binggrae, also raised the price of its products including Nougat Ice Bar and SsangSsang Bar.

Major convenience store chains, in the meantime, have decided not to raise consumer prices. The decision, however, is deemed a temporary measure and upward pressure on ice cream prices remains.