SEOUL, Dec. 28 (BNA) The ruling party said Tuesday, after a meeting with agricultural authorities, that the South Korean government will buy 200,000 tons of domestically produced rice this year to help stabilize the price of the staple grain in the market.
“Out of the 270,000 tons of surplus rice, the government will remove 200,000 tons from the market in the near future,” said Rep. Park Wan-joo, chief policy maker of the ruling Democratic Party.
He added that “the government will announce a detailed plan to buy 200,000 tons in January after discussions with the relevant parties.”
Park added that the government will monitor market conditions and rice reserves to determine if and when the remaining 70,000 tons of rice should be purchased, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
The move comes after this year’s rice production reached 3.88 million tons, up 10.7 percent from the previous year, and exceeded the expected demand of 3.61 million tons, resulting in a surplus of 270,000 tons.
Due to oversupply, rice prices have fallen by nearly 10 percent since early October, lowering farmers’ incomes.
Under the Grain Management Act, the government can “isolate” rice from the market if the amount harvested is 3 percent more than expected demand or its prices are 5 percent or more lower than last year.
MI