'Establishment of Agricultural Product Storage Base in Gangwon Region' and Installation of 'Vegetable Shipment Control Facilities'
Strengthening Supply and Demand Control Functions for Both Food Crops and Horticultural Crops
[Asia Economy Reporter La Young-cheol] Gangwon Province will promote the 'Establishment of Agricultural Product Storage Bases' research project and the 'Installation of Vegetable Shipment Control Facilities' project starting this year.
According to the province on the 2nd, the main goal of the project is to increase farm income through agricultural product supply and demand control and price stabilization, and to supply consumers with agricultural products at reasonable prices.
To this end, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, which operates 14 storage bases nationwide, plans to launch a feasibility study for the establishment of a new storage base in the Gangwon area to secure food security amid the surge in international grain prices.
The agricultural product storage base aims to guarantee prices to farmers during the harvest period and prevent price collapses. It also prepares for food crises by timely importing and supplying insufficient agricultural products.
By establishing an agricultural product storage base in the Gangwon area, it will be possible to smoothly store and distribute agricultural products within the province and control the supply and demand of domestic agricultural products. It will also enable increased production such as double cropping by local farmers in response to the demand for stored agricultural products and ensure stable income preservation.
The 'Installation of Vegetable Shipment Control Facilities' support project, selected through a public contest, will invest 10 billion KRW over two years to equip hygienic sorting and processing facilities, securing agricultural product safety through GAP certification to stabilize the market prices of vegetables, which have large price fluctuations.
Gangwon Province's cabbage accounts for 25% of the national cultivation area, and the proportion of highland cultivation area reaches 92.6% nationwide.
Through shipment control, a nationwide distribution network will be operated beyond the production volume within the province to maintain a stable supply system throughout the year, and by commercializing salted cabbage, it plans to flexibly respond to price fluctuation risks.
The province expects to contribute to increasing farm income by organizing cooperative individual agricultural labor procurement, initial field management, and joint work units to reduce production costs and expand scale, thereby enhancing market bargaining power.
Kim Jin-hwi, Director of the Provincial Agricultural Policy Bureau, said, "If supply and demand control from food crops to horticultural crops is smooth through the establishment of agricultural product storage bases and shipment control facilities, it will contribute to expanding farm income and revitalizing the regional economy through the activation of logistics and processing industries."
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