The government plans to set up a task force to monitor and control the prices of key food items such as milk and coffee amid soaring food prices.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced the plan on Sunday, saying that government officials will be designated to monitor the prices of seven key food items: instant noodles, bread, snacks, coffee, ice cream, sugar and milk.

According to Statistics Korea, ice cream prices jumped 15-point-two percent in October from a year earlier, while the prices of milk products rose 14-point-three percent on-year.

Bread gained five-point-five percent last month on-year, while snacks and coffee rose about ten percent, each.

The ministry plans to set up the task force swiftly to monitor the prices of those products, adding that it will set up the task force after internal discussions and consultations with other related organizations.

The ministry said that the task force is not a permanent organization but a temporary one until prices stabilize.