Rice prices rise; South Korea government to urgently release 150,000 tons of rice reserves.

South Korean media reported on March 1st that due to the recent continuous increase in the price of rice in South Korea, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has decided to urgently release 150,000 tons of government reserve rice to ease the supply tension and stabilize rice prices. Since the beginning of this year, the price of rice in South Korea has been rising continuously. According to statistics from government departments, by the end of February, the average retail price of a 20 kg bag of rice in South Korea was 63,000 Korean won, an increase of more than 15% compared to the same period in previous years. Faced with this situation, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs convened a meeting of the Committee for Stabilizing Supply and Demand of Grains to discuss the rice supply and demand situation and response measures. Market trends and inventory surveys show that there is a shortage of about 140,000 tons of rice in the South Korean market compared to normal years. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has decided to release a total of 150,000 tons of government reserve rice to the market in batches. The first batch will consist of 100,000 tons of reserve rice produced in 2025, and the remaining portion will be released based on the price trend and supply and demand situation. This release of reserve rice will be done in the form of "borrowing". Relevant distributors must submit applications by the 5th of this month, and after being approved to sell the reserve rice, they will return an equivalent amount of rice to the government when this year's new rice is harvested.