Hapcheon-gun Begins Public Grain Reserve and Market Isolation Grain Purchase... Holds First Purchase Ceremony

Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongnam Province, has started the first purchase of public reserve rice and market-isolated grains and held an inaugural purchase ceremony.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongnam Province, started the first purchase of the 2022 public stockpiled rice and market isolation grains on the 8th at the Gyerim Seedling Farm in Hapcheon-eup and held the first purchase ceremony.

Attending the first purchase ceremony held that day were Kim Yoon-cheol, the county governor; Jo Samsul, chairman of the Hapcheon County Council; Jang Jin-young, Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly member; county council members Lee Han-shin, Park Anna, and Kim Moon-sook; Lee Jae-ho, head of the Hapcheon office of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service; Kang Moon-gyu, head of the Hapcheon branch of Nonghyup Bank; Choi Jung-gyu, head of Hapcheon Nonghyup; Jang Moon-cheol, representative of Hapcheon Distribution; and Kim Do-seop, chairman of the National Tongjang Association Hapcheon branch, who encouraged the farmers.

The county will embark on a month-long grand journey of purchasing this year's public stockpiled rice and market isolation grains at 153 government grain warehouses in the jurisdiction until December 9.

This year's drying and purchase volume is 16,702 tons, of which 10,438 tons are public stockpiled rice and 6,263 tons are market isolation grains. Including 535 tons of paddy rice purchased until the 4th, the total is 17,237 tons, which is the largest amount among cities and counties in Gyeongnam.

The purchased varieties are Saeilji and Haedap rice, and the purchase price is determined by converting the nationwide average rice price during the harvest season from October to December 2022, surveyed by Statistics Korea, into rough rice.

To reduce the financial burden on farming households, an interim payment of 30,000 KRW per 40kg bag is paid immediately after purchase, and the difference will be paid by the end of the year once the final purchase price is confirmed.

Along with the first purchase ceremony held that day, a 'Promotion of Our Rice Consumption' event, hosted by Hapcheon Nonghyup and Hapcheon-gun to expand the decreasing consumption of domestic rice, was held.

Governor Kim said, "Despite many difficulties such as drought during the rice planting season and the decline in rice prices this year, I sincerely thank our farmers who have done their best in farming. We will do our best through close cooperation with related organizations such as the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service and Nonghyup to ensure that the purchase proceeds smoothly."