Seoul: The agriculture ministry announced plans to establish a task force focused on stabilizing the supply of agricultural and livestock products in response to rising food prices.

According to Yonhap News Agency, this initiative is part of the government's broader strategy to manage increasing prices of agricultural and processed food products, aiming to alleviate the financial strain on citizens. Data from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Rural Affairs indicates that processed food prices increased by over 4 percent year-on-year in April and May, following price hikes by approximately 60 local food companies since late last year.

The task force is set to engage with food companies in discussions to mitigate the impact of price increases and to formulate strategies to ease financial pressures on local businesses. This is in light of the rising international costs of essential food ingredients like cocoa and coffee.

To further support these efforts, the agriculture ministry plans to extend the import tariff quota for four key food ingredients until the year's end, instead of lifting it as initially scheduled this month. Additionally, a 20 billion-won (US$14.6 million) subsidy will be provided to small and medium-sized food manufacturers that purchase local agricultural products.

The ministry also intends to bolster egg production and has plans to import 4,000 tons of poultry products from Thailand, aiming to stabilize the prices of eggs and chicken, which have been consistently rising.