"Not Eating Rice"... Consumption Halved in 30 Years

Per Capita Grain Consumption in 2019 at 59.2kg... Halved in 30 Years
Rice Consumption Drops Another 1.8kg... Half of 1989's 121.4kg
Other Grains Like Mixed Grains and Legumes Also Decline... Other Grain Products Up 24.2%

Steaming hot Ogokbap with rising steam

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Household consumption of grains (rice + other grains) has halved over the past 30 years.

According to the "2019 Grain Consumption Survey Results" released by Statistics Korea on the 30th, the annual per capita grain consumption was 67.4 kg, a 3.0% decrease compared to the previous year.

Grain consumption has been steadily declining since 1981. Compared to 30 years ago in 1989 (133.4 kg), it has dropped to about half.

The annual per capita rice consumption was 59.2 kg, down 3.0% (1.8 kg) from 61.0 kg the previous year.

Consumption of other grains excluding rice was 8.2 kg, a 2.4% (0.2 kg) decrease from 8.4 kg the previous year.

Other grains include barley rice, wheat flour, miscellaneous grains (millet, sorghum rice, buckwheat, adlay, etc.), legumes (soybeans, red beans, peanuts, other legumes), and tubers.

By type of other grains, consumption of barley rice (1.4 kg) and tubers (2.8 kg) increased compared to the previous year, while miscellaneous grains (1.2 kg) and legumes (1.7 kg) decreased.

Looking at grain consumption by usage, staple and side dish use accounted for 66.1 kg, or 98.2%.

The share of other food uses (fermented sauces, rice cakes and snacks, others) decreased from 4.9% in 1998 to 1.8% in 2019.

Also, the annual per capita grain consumption in farming households was 104.2 kg, while non-farming households consumed 65.4 kg, with farming households consuming 38.8 kg more.

However, consumption decreased in both farming and non-farming households compared to the previous year.

In farming households, grain consumption decreased by 1.2%, with rice consumption (92.8 kg) down 2.1%. However, consumption of other grains (11.4 kg) increased by 4.6%.

In non-farming households, grain consumption decreased by 3.1%, with rice consumption (57.4 kg) down 3.0% and other grains consumption (8.0 kg) down 3.6%.

In the business sector, annual rice consumption in manufacturing was 744,044 tons, a 1.5% (11,609 tons) decrease compared to the previous year.

The industries with the highest rice consumption are liquor manufacturing (25.7%), rice cake manufacturing (23.7%), other processed foods for eating (13.2%), and other grain processed product manufacturing (7.5%) in that order.

Among these, the increasing trend in other grain processed product manufacturing, noodle, macaroni, and similar food manufacturing is notable.

Last year, rice consumption in other grain processed product manufacturing was 56,007 tons, a 24.2% (10,902 tons) increase compared to the previous year.

In the same year, usage in noodle, macaroni, and similar food manufacturing was 20,126 tons, a 9.2% increase from the previous year.

On the other hand, rice consumption in the brewing of Takju and Yakju (traditional Korean rice wines) was 49,547 tons, an 18.5% (11,238 tons) decrease.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.