South Korean rice yields set to drop amid poor weather, pests

SOUTH KOREA — The South Korean government has revised its marketing year 2024-25 milled rice production estimate down to 3.58 million tonnes, due to extreme heat, untimely rains and pest damage.

This represents a reduction of 2%, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture.

In its Jan. 29 Global Agricultural Information Network report, the FAS said Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) released its final production estimate on Nov. 15 based on field surveys that showed unexpected yield losses from harvested area that was unchanged at 698,000 hectares.

 “Damage from widespread brown planthopper infestations deteriorated further after KOSTAT’s last crop survey was completed in late September,” the FAS said. “Heavy rainfall and high temperatures from September to October exposed rice to more extreme pest infestation than usual.”

Amid political pressure from farm groups to counteract declining farmgate rice prices, the government announced its long-term rice reformation plan measures in December to address the nation’s chronic oversupply of rice.

 The plan includes acreage reduction, improving rice quality, developing new demand, strengthening local distribution competition, and supporting research and development for high-quality rice and new demand.

The FAS revised its forecast for 2024-25 rice consumption up to 4.11 million tonnes, up 160,000 tonnes, or 3.9%, from its previous report due to the government’s policies to encourage greater use of rice in food and beverage processing and feed.

However, these policies are not expected to reverse the steady decline in household table rice consumption, the FAS said.

“The continuous decline in rice consumption, especially among young adults, is exemplified by the growing preference for alternative breakfast meals (bread and sandwiches), and the rising rate of skipping breakfast,” the FAS said.

A consumer behavior survey published by the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI) in January 2025 showed that 66.7% of Korean consumers preferred rice for breakfast in 2024, down from 83.5% in 2017.

A report released by Statistics Korea shows that the average South Korean consumed 55.8 kilograms of rice last year, down 0.6 kilogram, or 1.1 percent, from the previous year.

This marks a dramatic drop in the consumption of the country’s most essential staple food from 1994 when the per capita figure was 120.5 kilograms — more than double last year’s.

The trend of declining rice consumption has been consistent since Statistics Korea began tracking it in 1962.

While households are eating less rice, its use in food and beverage manufacturing is booming, and it is finding a new life in South Korea’s alcohol market.

The food and beverage sector consumed 873,363 metric tons of rice in 2024 — a 6.9 percent increase from the previous year. Alcohol production accounted for 26.2 percent of the manufacturing sector’s rice usage.

Rice used in alcoholic beverage production surged by 16 percent, with the industry consuming 228,595 tons in 2024, compared to 197,102 tons in 2023.

 

 

 

 

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