'People are just consuming less rice'

An argument over the Grain Management Act is heating up in the National Assembly. The Democratic Party is pushing for a review of the Act, which stipulates that the government mandatorily purchases a certain amount of rice if an excessive amount is produced or the price goes down.

“The opposition party is forcing a populist and inflammatory revision of the Grain Management Act by abusing their majority of seats in the National Assembly," said Chung Jin-suk, head of the emergency measure committee of the People Power Party (PPP). "The government and political parties need to demonstrate their will to stabilize grain prices by taking action preliminarily."

The government is against a revision to the bill. Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Han Duk-soo expressed a negative stance against its revision, saying “it requires a thorough examination on whether it is appropriate to legislate.”

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs took the same stance. They pointed out that because rice is easier to grow and shows better earning rates compared to other grains, farmers consider the entry barriers to raising it relatively low. In this context, if the government’s mandatory purchasing of rice is specified in law, it is likely to exacerbate overproduction.

#rice_consumption_will_continue_to_decrease
“Honestly, people are just consuming less rice. The government cannot resolve the surplus issue by buying it.”
“Consumers feel the rice price is still too high. If the price goes up, they’ll look for substitutes.”

#secure_the_grian_for_national_security
“If production keeps decreasing, we might have to heavily depend on rice imports.”
“Only rice prices are going down, with all the other prices soaring. It imposes more burdens on famers.”

#revamp_the_distrubution_system
“The distribution system needs to be improved. Opening an online shopping mall could be a solution.”
“Lifting regulations on agricultural land and eliminating some related subsidies will lead to a better situation based on the market logic.”

BY KIM EUN-SONG, BY HAN HYE-RIM [han.hyerim1@joongang.co.kr]