Public Procurement Service "Expanding Raw Material Public Stockpiling to Strengthen Supply Chain Crisis Response"

The Public Procurement Service (PPS) plans to enhance its resilience to supply chain crises by expanding the scale and variety of public stockpiles of raw materials.

On the 29th, PPS announced that it finalized the "2024 Stockpiling Project Plan" at the Stockpiling Advisory Committee meeting held at the Seoul Regional Procurement Service.

At the committee meeting, PPS decided to increase the stockpile of non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, nickel, copper, zinc, tin, and lead from 50 days at the end of last year to 53 days this year, based on import demand. The mid- to long-term goal is to secure 60 days' worth by 2027.

In particular, this year, PPS plans to increase stockpiles focusing on aluminum, nickel, and copper, which have high import dependence and are expected to see future demand growth. Among these, nickel will reach the mid- to long-term target of 70 days' worth within this year.

Besides non-ferrous metals, the stockpile of economic security items such as automotive urea will also be more than doubled compared to the previous year, securing at least 60 days' worth per item.

Additionally, PPS intends to continuously identify items that may face supply disruptions due to unforeseen circumstances to minimize exposure to supply chain risks.

PPS will reduce the interest rate (0.3%p) and guarantee rate (10%p) on credit and loan releases of stockpiled materials to ease the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises, and plans to conduct a full survey of companies using stockpiled materials to ensure that the policy effects of the stockpiling project are felt by actual users.

Introducing an annual supply contract system to secure stable quantities even during supply chain crises and strengthening the role of public stockpiling within the supply chain management system are also key tasks PPS will focus on this year.

Im Gi-geun, Administrator of PPS, emphasized, "Supply chain management is not an issue of industrial competitiveness but a matter of survival. Considering that the global supply chain crisis is becoming a constant and entrenched situation, managing raw material risks is more important than ever."

He added, "PPS will adhere to 'Back to the Basic,' expanding stockpile scales and operating projects efficiently to build fundamental capabilities that can serve as a safety net even if supply chain crises occur."

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