Promotion of Public Stockpiling Purchase of 400,000 Tons of 2023 Rice Crop... Expansion to 450,000 Tons Next Year

'2023 Public Stockpile Implementation Plan'

The government has decided to purchase 400,000 tons of 2023 rice as public stockpiles. Next year, the purchase volume will be expanded to 450,000 tons.

On the 30th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that following the approval of the "2023 Public Stockpile Implementation Plan" at the Cabinet meeting the previous day, it will purchase 400,000 tons of public stockpiled rice by December 31.

This year, incentives for farmers participating in the agreement to reduce rice cultivation area have been expanded, increasing the amount directly allocated to farmers from 20,000 tons last year to 53,000 tons out of the 400,000 tons of public stockpiled rice. Additionally, the Ministry plans to purchase all of the rice flour (estimated 10,000 tons) produced in specialized rice flour production complexes as public stockpiled rice to actively promote the industrialization of rice flour.

Of the 400,000 tons of public stockpiled rice, 120,000 tons will be purchased in the form of unprocessed rice (paddy rice that has not been dried after harvest) for farmers' convenience. The remaining 280,000 tons will be purchased as bagged rice (rice that has been dried and packaged after harvest).

The purchase price for public stockpiled rice will be determined at the end of the year by converting the market price of rice during the harvest season (October to December) into the price of paddy rice. Farmers will receive an interim payment of 30,000 KRW per bag (based on 40kg of paddy rice) immediately after delivering the public stockpiled rice.

The rice varieties eligible for public stockpile purchase are designated annually by each city and county, limited to two varieties. Genetic testing is conducted on a 5% sample of all purchasing farmers, and those who deliver rice of varieties other than the designated ones will be excluded from public stockpile purchases for five years.

Of the 400,000 tons of purchased rice, 10,000 tons will be separately stored and managed for the operation of the "ASEAN+3 Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR)," an international agreement among the 10 ASEAN countries and Korea, China, and Japan to pre-agree, stockpile, and provide rice in emergencies. Additionally, 6,300 tons of eco-friendly rice will be purchased at a premium price (103.3% of the first-grade price). The government plans to prioritize supplying the eco-friendly rice purchased to military use and others on Organic Farming Day (June 2).

In response to the recent need to strengthen food security, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs expanded the government grain purchase budget in the 2024 government budget proposal from 1.4077 trillion KRW (for 400,000 tons in 2023) to 1.7124 trillion KRW (for 450,000 tons). Through this, it aims to stably secure national food supplies and expand aid to countries facing overseas food crises.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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