Rice Production This Year at 3.764 Million Tons... Decreased from Last Year but Still 'Oversupply'

2022 Rice Production Survey

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seonhee] This year’s rice production amounted to 3.764 million tons, a 3.0% decrease compared to last year’s 3.882 million tons. However, despite the decline in production, the rice supply remains in a state of oversupply.

On the 15th, Statistics Korea announced the results of the "2022 Rice Production Survey." Following the trend of decreasing rice consumption, annual rice production has continuously declined since 2015 (4.327 million tons), reaching 3.507 million tons in 2020. It temporarily increased to 3.882 million tons in 2021 but returned to a downward trend last year.

This year, rice yield per 10 ares (100㎡) of cultivated land was 518 kg, down 2.3% from last year. According to agricultural product distribution information, the average wholesale price for 20 kg of rice this year was 49,010 KRW, about 16% lower than last year’s 57,173 KRW. Statistics Korea explained that "the decrease in rice prices and support for cultivating alternative crops led to a reduction in rice cultivation area this year."

Although rice crop conditions were poor compared to previous years, the estimated demand (3.609 million tons) is still 155,000 tons less than supply, solidifying the structural oversupply of rice. The government plans to isolate 350,000 tons of rice produced this year from the market. Initially, the government expected the surplus production to be about 250,000 tons, but the actual surplus was 155,000 tons, meaning that more than 200,000 tons will be isolated compared to the surplus production. Accordingly, the price stabilization effect from market isolation is expected to be even greater.

Jeon Han-young, Director of Food Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated, "To fundamentally resolve the structural oversupply issue, we plan to implement the Strategic Crop Direct Payment System starting next year and actively promote policies that induce appropriate rice production, such as supporting the production, processing, and distribution of powdered rice industrialization." He added, "We will also pursue various rice consumption promotion policies to achieve rice supply-demand balance and fundamentally stabilize rice prices."

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