Government Begins Market Isolation of 450,000 Tons of Excess Rice Production: "Purchase to be Completed Within the Year"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] The government announced that it will begin the market isolation purchase procedure for the excess rice production totaling 450,000 tons starting from the 7th.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the day, the volume subject to market isolation, initiated ahead of the full-scale rice harvest season, consists of 100,000 tons of 2021 rice and 350,000 tons of 2022 rice, totaling 450,000 tons.

The rice subject to market isolation purchase this year is the rice harvested this year held by farmers, limited to the varieties designated as public stockpiling rice purchase targets by each city and county. Each city and county designated up to two varieties of rice for purchase, and farmers who ship market isolation rice of varieties other than those designated will be excluded from public stockpiling rice and market isolation rice purchase targets for the next five years.

The purchase price for 2022 market isolation rice is the same as the public stockpiling rice purchase price. The public stockpiling rice purchase price is determined based on the average price of rice at production sites surveyed by Statistics Korea nine times at 10-day intervals from October 5 to December 25. Farmers receive an interim payment of 30,000 KRW per sack (40kg of unmilled rice) immediately after shipping market isolation rice, and the remaining amount is settled within the year after the purchase price is confirmed.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs allocates the market isolation rice volume to local governments, which then complete the allocation to individual farms, and actual purchases will begin around the 20th. The government plans to complete the purchases within the year.

The 2021 market isolation purchase target is the 2021 rice held by NongHyup and private production-distribution companies (RPC). It will be conducted through a public competitive bidding method by province.

After the announcement on the day, bidding will take place on the 19th, and purchases will start from the 20th for the successful bidders, with plans to complete purchases within the year. If there are unsold quantities of 2021 old rice, they will be included in the new rice purchase, aiming to complete a total purchase of 450,000 tons by the end of this year.

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