Seoul, June 15 (IANS) South Korea’s food and drink prices ranked the second highest among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member economies, data showed on Sunday.

South Korea’s food and beverage price index stood at 147 in 2023, 47 percent higher than the OECD average, according to the data based on the purchasing power in each country, reports Yonhap news agency.

This reading also marked the second highest among the 38 OECD countries, only trailing Switzerland at 163. The food and beverage price index of the United States stood at 94, with those of Japan and Germany coming to 126 and 107, respectively.

South Korea’s consumer price index came to 116.03 in the first quarter of this year, marking a 16 percent increase over the past five years, according to data from Statistics Korea.

The index for daily necessities — 144 items closely related to people’s everyday lives, such as food, clothing and housing — came to 119.09 in the first quarter, while the index for food prices alone stood at 125.04.

The Seoul government is working to come up with pan-government measures to stabilize consumer prices, with a central focus on the prices of eggs and processed foods, which have seen big price leaps in recent months.

Meanwhile, the season’s first heat wave advisory was issued on Sunday for inland areas of Gyeonggi Province that surround Seoul.

The Korea Meteorological Administration issued the advisory for inland areas of Gyeonggi, including Pocheon, Gapyeong, Paju, Anseong and Yeoju, effective from 9 a.m. A heat wave advisory is issued when the day’s highest sensible temperature is expected to remain at 33 C or above for two or more days.

The year’s first heat wave advisory comes five days later than that of last year. In 2024, the first such alert was issued on June 10 for parts of the Gyeongsang regions.

—IANS

na/