The government has moved to address rising rice prices after the average retail price of rice surpassed 60,000 Korean won per 20kg. Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung stated at a press briefing on the 7th of last month that 60,000 Korean won per 20kg was a psychological threshold at which consumers perceive rice as expensive.
According to data compiled by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation on the 3rd, the average retail price of 20kg rice the previous day was 60,294 Korean won, a 17.2% increase compared to the same period last year. Rice prices temporarily exceeded 60,000 Korean won in late July but fell to the 59,000 Korean won range after the government began discount support on August 1. However, prices have risen again to the 60,000 Korean won range—a psychological threshold—within a month. Some individual supermarket stores in certain regions last month sold 20kg rice at 70,000–80,000 Korean won. Based on Statistics Korea’s consumer price index, the rice price index also rose 11% year-on-year last month.
The government attributes the rice price surge to competition among regional distributors with insufficient stockpiles to secure raw rice. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), which has attempted to stabilize consumer rice prices through large-scale discount events, plans to expand discount margins as the upward trend in rice prices continues. MAFRA is considering increasing the current discount of 3,000 Korean won per 20kg to 4,000–5,000 Korean won per 20kg.
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