Bank of Korea(BOK) Governor Rhee Chang-yong says the latest surge in agricultural prices is not a matter that can be resolved with monetary or financial policies. 

Rhee made the remark on Friday in a news conference held after a meeting of the bank’s monetary policy committee. 

The BOK chief said that farm products only take up three-point-eight percent of the consumer price index but roughly 30 percent of the rise in the index over the past three months was driven by such products. 

In particular, Rhee said 19 percent of the rise in the consumer price index resulted from the price of fruits, which only account for one-and-a-half percent of the index.

Noting that the surge in the prices of apples cannot be contained with interest rates, Rhee said there is a need to consider whether to pursue current policies or fundamentally tackle the rise in agricultural prices through imports. 

The governor said the time has come to determine national consensus on the structural problems resulting from climate change.