South Korea to temporarily lift import duties on corn to stabilize prices

South Korean media, Yonhap, reporting

• plans to import edible corn and some grains without tariffs until the end of this year under the quota tariff system, according to Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki.
• Currently, duties of 3 percent are levied on imported corn
• "There is a limited chance that annual inflation will exceed (the central bank's target of) 2 percent, but consumer price growth is expected to temporarily pick up in the second quarter," Hong said at a meeting on the economy.

The piece further notes on price inflation:

• Last month, prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products advanced 13.7 percent on-year due to a supply shortage and the outbreak of bird flu.