Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: "Dairy Promotion Board Decision-Making System Must Be Reorganized"

Discussion on Feed Cost Reduction Measures at the Dairy Industry Development Committee

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Park Youngbeom, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, expressed the view that the decision-making system of the Dairy Promotion Council should be restructured in relation to the improvement measures for the domestic dairy industry system.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the 13th, Vice Minister Park stated at the 2nd meeting of the Dairy Industry Development Committee held yesterday at the Sejong Convention Center in Sejong City, "The National Assembly expressed concerns that the competitiveness and self-sufficiency of the dairy industry are declining," and said, "The decision-making system of the Dairy Promotion Council needs to be restructured."

The Dairy Industry Development Committee, chaired by Vice Minister Park, plans to prepare improvement measures for the dairy industry system, including the raw milk price determination system, which has been pointed out as the cause of the recent milk price increase, by the end of this year. Initially, the government intended to restructure the related system by involving consumers and the dairy industry, but due to opposition from the dairy industry and others, it formed a government-led committee and began the restructuring work.

Park Beomsu, Director of the Livestock Policy Bureau, pointed out, "Over the past 20 years, the production cost of milk has increased by 373 won per liter, and the proportion of feed costs has risen by 6.7 percentage points," adding, "Our country's production costs are the second highest after Japan, and the gap between the two countries is gradually widening." He introduced restructuring plans that include operating the Dairy Promotion Council reasonably at a level comparable to public institutions and forming a board of directors that sufficiently reflects the opinions of general consumers and experts.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Director Park continued, emphasizing the need to increase the use of domestic forage (fiber-rich feed such as hay or straw) and encourage the joint use of facilities and equipment to reduce production costs, stating, "In particular, a policy shift is necessary to restructure the price system, including incentives, to reduce the currently excessive feed input."

Consumer groups and the dairy industry also agreed to restructure the decision-making structure of the Dairy Promotion Council. Hong Yeongeum, head of the Price Monitoring Center of the Consumer Organizations Council, argued, "It is desirable to allocate the board composition fairly by stakeholder," and Jeong Dongyoung, standing director of the Korea Consumer Agency, said, "I agree with expanding participation to alleviate conflicts within the board."

Lee Changbeom, president of the Korea Dairy Industry Association, concurred, saying, "It is necessary for parties with public interest to participate in the Dairy Promotion Council board to make decisions even in conflict situations."

However, the dairy industry opposed the government's restructuring plan. Lee Seungho, president of the Dairy and Beef Cattle Association, stated, "Operating the Dairy Promotion Council, a corporation, like a public institution is problematic."

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