Rice Production Decreases This Year and Prices Recover... Government Says Supply Management Possible Without Separate Purchases

Expected Production Volume 3.68 Million Tons... 80,000 Tons Decrease from Previous Year
Price Recovers to 200,000 Won per Bag after 1 Year and 9 Months

The expected rice production for 2023 is forecasted to be 3.68 million tons, which is 80,000 tons less than the previous year. Rice prices also recovered to the 200,000 KRW range per 80 kg last month, leading the government to anticipate stable supply and demand management without the need for separate purchases.

On the 6th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs held the Grain Supply Stability Committee meeting chaired by Vice Minister Han Hoon to discuss the 2023 rice supply stability measures and prepare plans to stabilize rice prices during the harvest season.

The expected rice production announced by Statistics Korea on this day is 3.68 million tons, 80,000 tons less than the previous year. The final production volume is expected to be confirmed around mid-November.

An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs explained, "The yield per 10a (are, 1,000㎡) is about 520 kg, similar to last year, but the cultivation area decreased by 19,000 hectares compared to the previous year due to pre-production adjustments through the Strategic Crop Direct Payment System. Although the expected production volume exceeds the anticipated demand for new rice of 3.61 million tons, considering current private stocks, rice price trends, and related regulations, stable supply management without market isolation measures seems feasible."

The Grain Supply Stability Committee agreed that no separate isolation measures are necessary given the current supply and demand situation, while requesting thorough monitoring and supply management after the final production announcement.

Recently, the farm-gate rice price has maintained a slight downward trend after rebounding through the harvest season measures in September last year, but shifted to an upward trend since mid-May this year due to a decrease in private stocks. In September, rice prices recovered to the 200,000 KRW range per 80 kg for the first time in 1 year and 9 months since December 2021.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to promote the establishment of rice distribution order through support for local distribution companies to facilitate smooth rice sales by farmers during this year’s harvest season, along with special crackdowns.

First, until the end of the year, alongside the public stock rice purchase (400,000 tons), the ministry will support local distribution companies such as NongHyup and private Rice Processing Complexes (RPCs) with 3.4 trillion KRW in rice purchase funds to ensure stable rice sales by farmers during the harvest season. Additionally, to establish rice distribution order during the harvest season, special crackdowns on mixing domestic and imported rice and mixing production years will be conducted in November and December, and the distribution and management status of government grain stocks will be intensively inspected.

Vice Minister Han said, "As a result of preemptive supply management through the Strategic Crop Direct Payment System introduced this year, overproduction appears to have decreased. We will conduct meticulous monitoring of the overall market to ensure that rice prices during the harvest season are maintained at appropriate levels."

(Photo for reference)

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