Presidential candidates desperate to court agricultural voters ahead of CPTPP

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By Lee Kyung-min

The two leading presidential candidates called for the government to buy rice to reduce the market supply, Friday, a discretionary measure to limit sharp falls in the price for the staple crop.

The unified move ahead of the presidential election next year seeks to court the agricultural industry set to experience a significant threat to their livelihoods, a predicament increasingly becoming a reality following the government push to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The trade deal among 11 members is certain to tank the profitability of the traditional industry, whose products will not survive a heated competition among producers of cheaper rice in Vietnam, Japan and Singapore ― key signatories of the mega trade agreement.

The country's 2.5 million farmers will organize a protest demanding the government halt moves to join the agreement, claiming they will not be sidelined in what they have characterized as a highly problematic move forfeiting food sovereignty at the expense of an industry neglecting technology-oriented progress.

Main opposition People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol said the government should promptly buy any excess amounts of rice, since production this year has registered an over 10 percent year-on-year increase.

“The government refused to listen to the concerns raised by farmers in September when the first estimate of annual rice production this year was announced. There were calls to buy the excess amount to control market prices, but the government dismissed them,” he said on Facebook, Thursday.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung shared a similar post, Tuesday.

“The government continues to refuse to buy the excess amount of rice, claiming that this year's price did not drop much from last year's. I hereby urge the government to swiftly buy 27 tons of rice to ease the concerns of farmers,” he said.

Under the law, the government can buy rice if the excess volume is more than 3 percent of the annual estimate or if the price falls by over 5 percent from average figures. Korea produced 3.38 million tons of rice this year, up 10.7 percent from 2020.