Due to the influence of the cold wave, the spread of avian influenza, and the rise of international oil prices last winter, producer prices continued to rise, centering on agricultural and marine products and industrial products.



The February producer price index released by the Bank of Korea was 105.85, up 0.8% from the previous month, up for the fourth consecutive month.




Agriculture, forestry and fishery prices rose 3.0% in one month, with agricultural products rising by 5.1%.



Green pepper rose 127.3% in one month, green onion 42.4%, Chinese cabbage 52.6%, and egg 22.5%, continuing a huge rise.



In particular, sales jumped 341.8% compared to a year ago.




Kim Young-hwan, head of the inflation statistics team at the Economic Statistics Bureau, explained, "The rise in agricultural and livestock products led to a rise in prices for agricultural, forestry and fishery products due to the cold wave and the decrease in shipments due to the spread of AI."



Industrial products also rose 1.1% from a month ago, mainly in coal, petroleum products and chemicals, due to the rise in international oil prices and raw material prices.



Service prices also rose 0.2% in the real estate, food, and lodging industries, while the electricity, gas, water and waste sectors also rose 0.8% as fuel costs rose.



(Photo = Courtesy of the Bank of Korea, Yonhap News)