SEOUL– South Korea’s rice output is expected to decrease 2 percent in 2022 from a year earlier due to the impact of unfavorable weather conditions, data showed Friday.
The country’s rice production is likely to come to 3.8 million tons this year, compared with 3.88 million tons produced the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
The statistics agency said the decline came as the accumulated precipitation from early June to early July this year in South Korea fell 33.2 percent on-year to reach just 195.9 mm. The country also had less sunshine from July to August, it added.
South Korea’s rice output declined for the fifth straight year in 2020 before rebounding on-year in 2021.
The yearly rice production, meanwhile, will likely stay below 4 million tons for the sixth consecutive year in 2022.
The combined size of rice paddies is expected to reach 7,271 square kilometers — about half the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut — in 2022, down 0.7 percent from the previous year. The decrease was attributable to the falling rice price, which induced farmers to cultivate other crops.
Rice is a staple food for Koreans, but its consumption has been steadily declining in recent decades due mainly to changes in diet.
Source: Yonhap News Agency