Higher food prices this year are expected to impose a burden ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday as families prepare to visit relatives and pay respects to ancestors.

According to the Korea Price Research Center on Monday, the cost of setting up memorial tables to pay respects to ancestors for a four-person household is expected to be around 254-thousand-300 won this year, a five-point-eight percent increase on-year.

The prices are estimated by analyzing the average prices of 29 food items that are usually included in the offering, such as fruits and nuts, at traditional markets in major cities around the country.

The prices of vegetables increased across the board after freezing temperatures and heavy snow this winter season affected harvests.

The institute said that while the government is promoting various measures to stabilize prices, it would be impractical to expect tangible effects with the Lunar New Year falling earlier this year and the prices of meat and processed foods having already risen sharply.

Source: KBS World Radio