대한민국 곡물 및 시리얼 insights

[Agricultural, Fisheries, and Livestock Newspaper=Reporter Han Tae] The Korea Rice Farmers' Central Union strongly opposed the government's plan to release 25,000 tons of rice for food use, calling it a disregard for the livelihoods of rice farmers. The rice farmers issued a statement on the 15th, saying, "The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is trying to bring down the price of rice, which is the lifeblood of farmers, to rock bottom again by releasing government-held rice again when the harvester is in use..." This opposition comes after the government announced the release of 30,000 tons of government-held rice for food use last month, and an additional 50,000 tons for processing, with a plan to release 25,000 tons for food use by mid-month. Especially with the new rice harvest starting, the continuous release of government-held rice is causing rising expectations for farmers' purchasing prices.

The Incheon branch of the South Korean KFA Association purchased 68,000 tons of feed corn in a private deal from CHS on September 11, the Zerno On-Line agency reported, citing Reuters. The purchase price was $231.9 C&F. The corn may be supplied from the United States or South America. Shipment is scheduled for November 3-12

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Yoon-gu = The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 12th that it will supply an additional 25,000 tons of government rice (paddy) to stabilize rice supply and demand. According to a Statistics Korea survey, as of the 5th, the price of rice in the producing areas was 55,810 won per 20 kg, which is 1,180 won higher than the previous survey on the 25th of last month. For almost four years, the price of a bag of rice (80 kg) has exceeded 220,000 won. The retail price of rice is above 61,000 won per 20 kg on average, which is about 20% higher than last year. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs decided to supply additional government rice because it is expected that there will be a shortage of raw rice for 1 to 2 weeks depending on the region until mid-October when the full-ripe rice (medium-late variety) starts to be shipped. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs supplied 30,000 tons of government rice starting from August 25 last year. Half of the supplied amount was sold within two weeks, and the remaining amount is expected to be sold out in about two weeks, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs official explained that the demand for old rice from local distributors has increased due to the delay in shipment caused by frequent rain during the early rice harvest season this year, resulting in a shortage of inventory that was less than expected. To this end, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to supply an additional 25,000 tons of rice on a loan basis to solve the problem of securing raw rice (paddy) for local distributors. Companies hoping to receive government rice should submit the desired amount according to the notice on the NH Nonghyup Economic Holdings website, and the loan amount will be supplied from the 19th considering the percentage of rice sales of the target company last year. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has restricted the resale of the government rice supplied this time as paddy and has allowed it to be sold as rice until the 17th of next month. Companies that receive government rice must return the new crop to the government warehouse by March of next year. The return amount will be determined later considering the average price of rice in the producing areas in August of this year, the price of rice at harvest time this year, and the milling rate. Kim Jong-gu, Director of the Food Policy Division at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "This additional supply of government rice can alleviate the difficulties of local distributors this year and contribute to stabilizing the price of rice at harvest time and the income of farmers" and "The government will do its best to stabilize the price of rice to help both farmers and consumers."