Assemblyman Seo Samsuk Criticizes Government Incompetence Over Rice Price Collapse

Government Shifts Grain Management Responsibility to NongHyup... NongHyup Stock Soars 73% Compared to Previous Year

[Sinan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Jae-kyung] Seo Sam-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Yeongam·Muan·Sinan), strongly criticized the government's incompetent response to the rice price collapse during the first work report of the 21st National Assembly's second half Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee held on the 1st.

Rep. Seo said, “In the agricultural field, production costs cannot even be covered due to rising labor, materials, and fertilizer prices, yet there is no effective government measure in response to the rice price collapse.” He continued, “If 100g of rice is converted to one bowl of cooked rice, it is about 220 won,” adding, “One bowl of rice, which is below production cost, is 1/23 of a typical branded coffee priced at 5,000 won and 1/136 of a 30,000 won pizza in the market,” highlighting the seriousness of the rice price collapse crisis.

Rep. Seo criticized the government’s irresponsibility, stating, “According to the Grain Management Act, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs must establish an annual grain supply and demand plan, but the responsibility is being shifted to the NongHyup and local regions. NongHyup currently holds 410,000 tons of stock, which is a 73% increase compared to the previous year.”

By region, Jeonnam has the largest rice stock at 100,000 tons, accounting for 25% of the total, which has surged by 188% compared to last year, and criticism is also rising that the government is shifting grain management responsibilities to NongHyup.

The government implemented market isolation three times (27,000 tons in the 1st and 2nd rounds, and 100,000 tons currently in the 3rd round), but these measures, taken after the harvest season and using a reverse auction method that ignores the field situation, have only halved the effectiveness despite the same fiscal expenditure.

A more serious problem is that this surge in stockpiles is not only a loss for this year but may cause a shortage of storage for reserves during the 2022 new rice purchase season, potentially leading to further rice price collapses. It is expected that 200,000 tons of stock will remain until the new rice purchase season.

Rep. Seo proposed alternatives, saying, “Special measures should be promoted, including paying various allowances and bonuses in rice by the Presidential Office, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and affiliated public institutions, as well as actively utilizing consumption by military personnel and police officers.” He also suggested, “Since imported processed rice amounts to 350,000 tons, actively substituting this with domestically produced rice should be pursued.”

If the various alternatives proposed by Rep. Seo are realized, about 447,000 tons could be consumed.

Rep. Seo urged the government’s reflection and efficient response, saying, “This is a desperate situation. I have proposed several measures as last resorts. The government must refer to these and do its best to consume NongHyup’s stock rice by any means. The rice price issue should be taken as a serious warning from the field.”

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