Government to Purchase 2024 Damaged Rice Crop... Purchase Volume Hopes 3.5 Times Higher Than Last Year

The government will actively proceed with the purchase of damaged rice from the 2024 harvest. The quantity of rice that farmers wish to sell has increased more than 3.5 times compared to last year.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 24th of last month that it will purchase all the damaged rice that farmers wish to sell in order to reduce losses caused by rice planthoppers and heavy rains, and to prevent the distribution of low-quality rice. Accordingly, local governments surveyed the quantity of damaged rice that farmers wished to sell from the 27th of last month until the 15th of this month.

According to the damage assessment compiled by local governments, the quantity of rice farmers wish to sell this year is 46,457 tons (based on milled rice), which is more than 3.5 times the 12,665 tons requested last year.

The inspection standards for purchasing damaged rice were established based on measurements of damaged rice samples collected by local governments and analyzed by the Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, and finalized after gathering opinions from agricultural organizations, local governments, and officials from the Agricultural Quality Management Service.

According to this year’s inspection standards, the price level for the 'Provisional Grade A' is 80.77% of the price of first-grade public reserve rice. For Provisional Grade B and Provisional Grade C, the price levels are 67.95% and 55.13%, respectively, which are higher than the average in previous years.

The final purchase price will be determined based on the public reserve rice purchase price set at the end of December. Immediately after purchase, farmers will be paid an interim settlement amount of 25,000 KRW per 40 kg, with the balance paid at the end of the year.

Choi Myung-cheol, Director of Food Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated, "According to the sample measurements, the milling yield of damaged rice this year is higher than last year, so it is expected that many farmers will fall under the Provisional Grade A category. Since the government will additionally purchase damaged rice separately from the public reserve rice purchase, it is expected to have a stabilizing effect on rice prices."