SEOUL (XINHUA) – South Korea’s rice output was estimated to fall 1.2 per cent this year due to lower cultivation area, statistical office data showed yesterday.
A combined 3,657,000 tonnes of rice, a key staple food for South Koreans, was expected to be produced in the country in 2024, according to Statistics Korea.
It was down 1.2 per cent compared with 3,702,000 tonnes in the previous year, keeping a downward trend for the third consecutive year. The lower rice production was attributable to the continued fall in rice paddies.
The size of rice paddies across South Korea dwindled 1.5 per cent over the year to 697,714 hectares in 2024, marking the lowest since relevant data began to be compiled in 1965. Consumption of rice has been declining in recent decades due to changes in eating habits.
