Govt. to pay W1.5tr in subsidies to rice farmers

Published : Feb 21, 2017 - 11:14 Updated : Feb 21, 2017 - 11:14

The South Korean government will pay nearly 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in subsidies to rice farmers this year as compensation for falling prices, the agriculture ministry said Tuesday.

Under the law designed to protect the local rice industry, the government gives rice farmers the difference between the target price of rice and the actual market price.

(Yonhap)

For 2017, the target price was 188,000 won for an 80-kilogram sack of rice, with the market price remaining at 129,915 won.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it decided to set the subsidies at 33,499 won per 80 kg this year, while some 706,000 hectare of rice paddies are subject to the government subsidies.

As a result, a total of 1.5 trillion won will be paid to rice farmers in 2017.

The market price of rice has been on a share decline for years in South Korea due mainly to decreasing demand for the staple crop stemming from changes in diet habits.

Some 300,000 tons of rice remained in excess last year, as the 4.2 million ton supply outnumbers the 3.9 million tons consumed, and the glut will likely stay at 200,000 tons in 2017.

The South Korea government has spent trillions of won to support the price for years, through giving out subsidies to rice farmers and purchasing oversupplied rice. (Yonhap)