South Korea will buy 400,000 tons of rice for its public stockpile this year, down 30,000 tons from a year earlier, while raising the interim payment farmers receive upon delivery by 20,000 won.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said the plan was approved at a Cabinet meeting on the 25th, under the 2026 public stockpiling program and the government grain supply plan for the 2027 grain year.
Stockpile purchases have fallen for two straight years, from 450,000 tons in 2024 to 430,000 tons last year and 400,000 tons this year. Purchases of rice flour varieties also declined to 35,000 tons from 50,000 tons a year earlier.
The reduction was made possible by a supply-control rice program launched this year for the first time. Under the program, the government can separately secure about 100,000 tons of processing-use rice from up to 20,000 hectares.
Supply-control rice is designated for processing only and is kept out of the table-rice market, but can be converted for table use in emergencies such as a poor harvest. The system is intended to prevent oversupply in normal years and cover shortfalls in emergencies, stabilizing rice supply and demand.
When farmers deliver rice for the public stockpile, the government first pays an interim settlement of 60,000 won per 40-kilogram bag. The interim payment is made before the final purchase price is set. The government finalizes the purchase price at the end of the year, reflecting average farmgate rice prices from October through December, the harvest season, and then pays farmers the difference after deducting the 60,000 won already disbursed. The interim payment had remained at 30,000 won since 2017 before rising to 40,000 won in 2024 and to 60,000 won this year.
Starting this year, the government will also pilot a premium of up to 5% on the purchase price for the top 30% of eco-friendly rice farmers whose grain has the lowest protein content. Rice bought under the program will be supplied to vulnerable groups, including senior centers and free meal providers.
Government-managed rice stocks are projected at 710,000 tons at the end of October this year. The ministry had forecast 993,000 tons for the same point last year, but stocks came in 283,000 tons below that projection after the government released grain during a period of rising farmgate prices.
The government plans to raise stocks to 840,000 tons by the end of the 2027 grain year. "Stockpile purchases will decline, but stocks are expected to rise again as about 100,000 tons of rice the government lent out this year is returned next year," a ministry official said.
