Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho stated on Wednesday that the recent heavy rains in South Korea were unlikely to have an immediate effect on consumer prices. Choo was visiting a chicken farm in Gongju, 119 kilometers south of Seoul, when he made the remark. The agricultural ministry reported that the rains damaged 33,005 hectares of crops and killed 797,000 units of livestock, including 738,800 chickens. Despite this, Choo stated that the on-year growth in prices should stay around 2.5 percent after September. South Korea’s on-year consumer price growth decreased for the fifth consecutive month in June, reaching 2.7 percent. The finance ministry had previously indicated that there could be some fluctuations in prices due to weather conditions such as heat waves and typhoons. The government has no plans to issue an additional budget to address the damage caused by the rains, as it is already equipped to manage the situation.