In this file photo provided by the finance ministry, officials visit a discount chain store in Seoul to check prices of bay salt on Nov. 9, 2023. (Yonhap)

(KPL/Yonhap) The government will extend supplies of mackerel, cuttlefish and other marine products in an effort to stabilize prices amid high inflationary pressure, the finance ministry said Tuesday.

The consumer price index of seafood has grown at a slower pace in recent months to rise 3 percent on-year in October on rising production, though prices of some items have not stabilized enough due to a constant fall in the catch of larger-sized fish and other issues.

In response, the government has released more than 1,500 tons of cuttlefish reserves to the market since last month, and is reviewing a process to secure its stockpiles.

The government plans to extend tariff-rate quotas on 10,000 tons of imported mackerel in addition to its recent import of 10,000 tons at a lower tariff under the system.

The tariff-rate quota is a system under which products are imported with favorable duty conditions within a designated volume.

"The government has striven to stabilize prices by beefing up the market monitoring and implementing various measures. Efforts to reform the seafood distribution structure to cut costs are also a must to ensure stable prices of seafood," Deputy Finance Minister Hong Doo-seon said during a meeting with officials of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives.

The Republic of Korea is still struggling with high inflationary pressure despite a gradual downtrend this year amid external uncertainties.

Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, decreased by a yearly low of 2.3 percent on-year in July but rose 3.4 percent in August, 3.7 percent in September and 3.8 percent last month, according to government data.

The finance ministry has said that inflation is forecast to ease at a slower pace than earlier expected and vowed efforts to bring prices under control.

KPL