Prices of imported farm products in South Korea declined last month, customs data showed Wednesday, despite worries that recent extreme weather conditions in major farmlands would cause price hikes.

According to the data by the Korea Customs Service, the price index of imported agricultural, livestock and fishery products stood at 114.2 in August, down 4.3 percent from a year earlier. The index is also down 3 percent from July.

Import prices of agricultural products fell 3.5 percent on-year in August, while livestock imports saw their average prices decrease 1.6 percent over the same period. The prices of imported fishery products were also down 12.4 percent from a year earlier.

The decline comes despite growing worries that farm product prices could spike due to extreme weather conditions including hurricanes, flooding and drought that have devastated many major farmlands in the world.

South Korea also saw recent typhoons hit its farmlands, which raised concerns key produce prices could spike in the run up to the Chuseok holiday later this month.

On Tuesday, the government said it will closely monitor 31 items including major farm products on a daily basis in a bid to stabilize their prices and ease the pain of working-class people ahead of the holiday, which falls on Sept. 30.

In addition, it will expand the supplies of such products as cabbages, radishes, apples, beef, pork and chicken by about 50 percent in the weeks to come to stabilize their prices in the market. (Yonhap News)