Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Announces Results of the '2018 Agricultural Corporations Survey'
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The number of agricultural corporations in South Korea slightly decreased in 2018. The average sales per corporation stood at 1.8 billion KRW, with an average of 6.8 employees per corporation.
According to the "2018 Agricultural Corporation Statistical Survey" released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the 28th, as of the end of 2018, the number of agricultural corporations was 21,780, a slight decrease of 0.6% compared to the previous year. Farming cooperative corporations (groups of five or more farmers) accounted for 10,163 (46.7%), and agricultural company corporations (corporations established by farmers) accounted for 11,617 (53.3%).
The number of agricultural corporations increased annually from 17,777 in 2015 to 20,113 in 2016, and 21,858 in 2017, but the growth stopped last year.
The total number of employees in agricultural corporations was 149,200, with an average of 6.8 employees per corporation. By age group, employees in their 50s accounted for 45,700 (30.6%), those aged 60 and above 42,600 (28.5%), and those in their 40s 33,800 (22.7%).
Total sales amounted to 37.4727 trillion KRW, with farming cooperative corporations generating 11.6549 trillion KRW (1.2 billion KRW per corporation) and agricultural company corporations 25.8178 trillion KRW (2.36 billion KRW per corporation), averaging 1.81 billion KRW per corporation. The average assets per agricultural corporation were 1.64 billion KRW, liabilities 1.05 billion KRW, and capital 590 million KRW, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 178.8%.
The main business proportions of farming cooperative corporations were agricultural production (36.2%), agricultural and livestock product distribution (26.5%), and agricultural and livestock product processing (19.4%). For agricultural company corporations, the order was agricultural and livestock product distribution (34.8%), agricultural production (30.1%), and agricultural and livestock product processing (21.9%).
Agricultural production corporations were most concentrated in Jeonnam (1,359), while agricultural and livestock product distribution corporations were most concentrated in Gyeonggi (1,216).
The total scale of facility and equipment investment by agricultural corporations was 1.0813 trillion KRW, with buildings and structures accounting for the largest share (43.5%). The average investment per corporation was 325 million KRW.
Meanwhile, this survey was conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Education and Culture Information Service) through telephone and face-to-face interviews from August to December last year.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
