Rice Production Decreased by 3.2% Again... Continuous Decline Since 2021

Rice Production This Year 3.585 Million Tons
Lower Than Last Month's Statistics Korea Estimate
Rice Cultivation Area Hits Lowest Since Statistics Began

This year's rice production volume has decreased compared to last month's estimate. Since September, high temperatures and damage from rice planthoppers have led to a reduction in the final production volume. The rice cultivation area recorded the lowest level since statistics began in 1965.

According to the "2024 Rice Production Survey" released by Statistics Korea on the 15th, this year's rice production is 3.585 million tons, a 3.2% decrease compared to last year (3.702 million tons). This is 72,000 tons less than the estimated production volume (3.657 million tons) announced by Statistics Korea last month. The final production volume decreased due to continued damage from high temperatures and pests such as rice planthoppers since September. Rice production has been declining continuously since 2021.

This year's rice cultivation area is 698,000 hectares, down 1.5% from last year (708,000 hectares). This matches last month's forecast by Statistics Korea. This is the first time the area has fallen to the 600,000-hectare level, marking the lowest level since statistics began in 1965. Statistics Korea explained that "the rice cultivation area decreased due to the implementation of appropriate production policies for rice supply-demand balance (such as the Strategic Crop Direct Payment System and the Paddy Field Crop Diversification Support Project)."

Looking at rice production by province this year, Jeonnam (709,000 tons), Chungnam (706,000 tons), and Jeonbuk (545,000 tons) ranked highest. Last month, Statistics Korea had expected Chungnam (725,000 tons), Jeonnam (721,000 tons), and Jeonbuk (559,000 tons) to have the highest production volumes, but the order changed due to differing rates of production decline by region. In last year’s case, Jeonnam (737,000 tons), Chungnam (727,000 tons), and Jeonbuk (582,000 tons) had the highest production volumes.