Due to Rice Price Collapse... Government Plans to Purchase 450,000 Tons of Public Stockpiled Rice This Year

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seonhee] The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 1st that it plans to purchase a total of 450,000 tons of public stockpiled rice this year. The purchase period has been moved up by more than half a month compared to previous years, and the purchase volume is also the largest ever. This is interpreted as the government’s response to the rice price collapse caused by oversupply and lack of demand.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on this day, the government finalized the "2022 Public Stockpiled Rice Purchase Plan" with these details on the 30th of last month. From August 31 to November 30, 100,000 tons of paddy rice (rice that has not been dried after harvest) will be purchased, and from October 11, 350,000 tons of bagged rice (rice that has been dried and packaged after harvest) will be purchased.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has been purchasing about 350,000 tons of public stockpiled rice annually since 2017, but this year the volume was increased by 100,000 tons. The purchase period, which usually started around mid to late September, was moved up to the end of August. It is expected to have the effect of early isolation of this year’s rice from the market.

The purchase price of public stockpiled rice is determined based on the average price of rice at production sites surveyed by Statistics Korea every 10 days from October 5 to December 25 (a total of 9 times). Farmers receive an interim payment of 30,000 KRW per bag (40kg of rough rice) immediately after delivering public stockpiled rice, and the remaining amount is settled within the year after the purchase price is finalized.

The rice varieties eligible for purchase are designated by city or county with up to two varieties, and farmers who deliver public stockpiled rice of varieties other than those designated will be excluded from the public stockpiled rice purchase for five years.

Of the 450,000 tons of purchased rice, 10,000 tons will be separately stored and managed for the operation of the "ASEAN+3 (Korea-China-Japan) Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR)." Additionally, 7,000 tons of eco-friendly rice will be purchased at the premium price for general rice and will be preferentially supplied for military use and others on Organic Farming Day (June 2).

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs stated, "We will strive to stably purchase all 450,000 tons of public stockpiled rice, and do our best to facilitate farmers by expanding the purchase period and purchasing paddy rice. We plan to proactively prepare measures for the 2022 rice harvest season considering weather conditions."

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