The government will soon introduce an agricultural products distribution system that connects farmers directly to consumers to greatly reduce the prices of farm products, government officials said Sunday.

The move comes as President Park Geun-hye early last week pledged to improve the agriculture distribution system to guarantee higher incomes for farmers and lower prices for consumers.

Both producers and consumers have long been unhappy with the country’s complicated distribution system in which 70 percent of the steps involved in selling vegetables and 50 percent in selling fruits are unnecessary, Park noted at the time.

NongHyup or the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation will launch a so-called “Local Food” project in which NongHyup will set up scores of outlets across the country to help farmers sell to consumers directly, a government official said.

NongHyup said it established a “Local Food” outlet in Yongjin village, Wanju County, North Jeolla Province, in April last year to sell vegetables, fruits and livestock products to consumers at about 20 percent lower prices than market prices.

The outlet has attracted an average of 1,300 consumers not only from nearby villages but also from such distant cities as Jeonju and Daejeon, South Chungcheong Province, NongHyup officials said. (Yonhap News)