By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
The size of rice farmlands here has continued to shrink over the years as Koreans' eating patterns have become more westernized, consuming more meat, fruit and vegetables in place of rice. Also, more farmers plant ginseng and other commercial crops rather than rice as its price is heading downward on rising imports from the United States, China and other rice exporting nations.
According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) Thursday, local farmers planted rice in 936,000 hectares of land nationwide this year, down 1.5 percent from a year earlier. The area under rice farming has declined 26 percent since 1987 when rice farmland reached its peak at 1.26 million hectares.
With dwindling farmlands, rice production has also declined over the years. Last year's rice production stood at 4.41 million tons, down 5.8 percent from 4.68 million tons in 2006.
Farmers in South Jeolla Province planted rice crops on 189,000 hectares of land, the largest in the country, followed by South Chungchong Province with 162,000 hectares and North Jeolla Province with 142,000 hectares.
``A drop in the size of rice farmlands is attributed to growing consumption of instant food, processed meals and rice substitutes such as bread and noodles, as more Koreans prefer to eat something fast and easy-to-prepare due to their hectic lifestyle. People are also eating more vegetables and fruit amid the rapid spread of healthy diets and lifestyles,'' an NSO official said.
Per-capita rice consumption declined 2.4 percent to 76.9 kilograms last year from a year earlier.
He said rising rice imports under the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement have also discouraged rice farmers from planting the crop, opting for vegetables and other commercial crops.
When South Korea joined the WTO in 1995, the nation agreed to import 200,000 tons of rice each year until 2004 from the United States, China and other rice exporting nations under the minimum market access (MMA) agreement, instead of a full market opening. Since 2005, Korea has been bringing in 400,000 tons of rice per year. It will continue until 2014.
The government has stocked most imported rice in warehouses to guard against a price collapse and the consequent protests from farmers. But a portion of imported rice has been used in processed goods, pushing down rice prices. Rice farmers earned 4.9 million won per 10 hectares last year, down from 5.4 million won a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the area being used to cultivate peppers decreased 11 percent to 49,000 hectares in 2007 from 55,000 hectares a year ago. Because of rising pepper imports from China and other nations, market prices have fallen sharply, discouraging farmers from engaging in pepper production.
leehs@koreatimes.co.kr
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경찰, 이태원 등 외국인 밀집지역 특별관리
