Inflation in grocery costs in South Korea is more than three times that of the OECD average.

According to data by Statistics Korea and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD), prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages grew five-point-six percent year-on-year in July.

This is three-point-three times higher than the one-point-seven percent average increase among OECD members.

The figure is also the fifth highest in the OECD after Turkey, Mexico, Latvia and the Czech Republic.

The surge in food prices in Korea is believed to be due to steep increases in the cost of fresh produce such as vegetables and fruit resulting from the monsoon and heat wave.

With higher grocery costs, the overall inflation in consumer prices recorded two-point-two percent in July, higher than the two percent OECD average.

It's the first time in nine months for Korea to outpace the OECD average in consumer price growth.