Government to Support NongHyup-Operated Plants with Film Raw Materials Amid Concerns Over Agricultural Film Shortage

In response to concerns over a shortage of agricultural film supply due to the prolonged conflict in the Middle East, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and NongHyup have agreed to collaborate. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will supply raw materials to key agricultural film manufacturers through the cooperation of petrochemical companies. The film manufacturers will then use these raw materials to produce agricultural film, which will be distributed to local NongHyup branches experiencing inventory shortages.

On May 6, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that it had decided to work together with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and NongHyup Agribusiness Group to ensure a stable supply of agricultural film, as part of efforts to stabilize domestic agricultural product prices and essential living costs.

The Asia Business Daily DB

원본보기 아이콘

To begin with, Hanwha Solutions, the raw material supplier, plans to deliver raw materials for agricultural film within this week to Jinju Horticulture NongHyup, which has expressed its intention to participate in the pilot project. Jinju Horticulture NongHyup will use the supplied raw materials to produce agricultural film, which will then be distributed to six local NongHyup material sales centers, including the Munsan NongHyup Dongbu Logistics Branch, Namhae Changseon NongHyup, and Hadong NongHyup Gojun Branch.

Kim Junguk, Director General of Agro-Industry Innovation Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated, "This pilot project is the first case of producing and supplying agricultural film through government support for raw material supply, in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and NongHyup, to ensure stable supply. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will continue to monitor the supply and demand situation for agricultural film and will do its utmost to ensure stable supply, including establishing a cooperative system with private manufacturers."

Meanwhile, a joint on-site inspection conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rural Development Administration, local governments, and NongHyup from April 4 to 15 confirmed that a significant portion of the agricultural film required for spring farming had been secured, allowing farming activities to proceed without issues. However, it was also confirmed that in some regions, inventories were partially insufficient compared to the needs through June. To address this, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is cooperating with NongHyup to secure additional supplies by reallocating existing stocks between regions and expanding new supplies for local NongHyup branches suffering from inventory shortages.

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.