"Rice Prices Fall While All Other Prices Rise"…10,000 Farmers March to Seoul

Producer Prices Rose 9% Last Month... Rice Prices Fell 23.6% Year-on-Year
Farmers Say "Government Intentionally Lowers Rice Prices"
Demanding Rapid Market Isolation and Revival of Variable Direct Payment System from Government

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Farmers have come to Seoul to protest against the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, saying that while prices are rising, rice prices are falling. They urged the government to expand support for farmers, including rice purchase and production cost compensation.

At around 2 p.m. on the 29th, the Korea Successor Agricultural Managers Central Association (Han Nong-yeon) held a "Farmers' General Rally to Demand Measures to Resolve Farm Management Instability" in front of Exit 12 of Seoul Station. Nine farmer organizations, including Han Nong-yeon, the Korea Rural Leaders Central Association, and the Korea Women Farmers Central Association, participated in the rally. The organizers estimated about 10,000 people, while the police estimated 7,000 gathered at the site.

They complained that while prices are rising, rice prices are falling, making it difficult to make a living. Producer prices rose more than 9% last month, and prices have been increasing daily, but rice prices have dropped, increasing the burden on farmers. According to Han Nong-yeon, as of the 15th, the farm-gate price of rice was 42,522 KRW per 20kg, down about 23.6% compared to the previous year.

Lee Hak-gu, president of Han Nong-yeon, said in his opening remarks, "The price of old rice negatively affects the formation of new rice prices, and the downward trend in rice prices is expected to continue for the time being, while prices of agricultural materials such as fertilizer and feed are soaring," adding, "Farmers' sighs are deepening."

Rice Surplus Causes Rice Prices to Fall... Farmers Say "Variable Direct Payment System Must Be Revived"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The decline in rice prices is caused by a surplus of rice. Last year, domestic rice production was 3,882,000 tons, an increase of 10.7% compared to the previous year. Rice stockpiles recorded 400,000 tons, about 70% higher than the previous year. In response, the government activated the "automatic market isolation" measure twice this year to purchase rice in the market. However, farmers are skeptical about the government's willingness to solve the problem, saying the measure was not implemented at the right time and the purchase volume was not large enough. Kim Hyung-in (63), whom we met at the rally, said, "Every time the administration changes, government officials say they care about farmers, but rice prices fluctuate wildly," adding, "We can only see that the government is intentionally lowering rice prices."

They also criticized President Yoon Seok-yeol for mentioning farmers' difficulties several times during his candidacy but not reviving systems like the variable direct payment. The variable direct payment system compensates 85% of the difference between the farm-gate price and the target price if the rice price during harvest falls short of the target price. The system was abolished in 2020 due to budget issues and replaced by the automatic market isolation system. At that time, academia warned that the automatic market isolation system could lead to an expansion of rice cultivation area, causing oversupply of rice.

Ha Won-oh, chairman of the National Farmers' Federation, said, "Ahead of Chuseok, farmers are not in the fields during the busy farming season but on the asphalt," adding, "Everything except rice prices is rising, and the government must come up with special measures." He also said, "The government is trying to artificially manage agricultural product prices by expanding duty-free imports of foreign agricultural products as if agricultural products are the main cause of inflation."

They demanded the government stabilize rice prices and compensate for increased agricultural production costs as countermeasures against rising production costs and falling rice prices. Lee said, "Regarding this year's excess production of new rice, please promptly isolate it from the market in line with the harvest season," and "The price difference support project for major agricultural materials such as main fertilizers, feed, and tax-exempt oil must be included in next year's agricultural budget."

Meanwhile, after the rally, participants marched toward the Samgakji Police Station.

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