"Government grain policy, shifting focus to processed grains"

Amid complaints from the rice processing food industry about difficulties in securing raw materials, there is a call to shift the focus of government grain policy from rice for consumption to rice for processing. The Korea Rice Processing Food Association, the Korea Rice Farmers' Central Union, and the Korea Food Security Research Institute at Korea University held a "Discussion on the Development of the Rice Processing Industry and Food Security" at the National Assembly in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, on the 22nd. This discussion was held in response to the "Rice Industry Structural Reform Plan (2025-2029)" announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in December last year, under which the supply of government-managed rice for processing is set to decrease gradually from this year. According to the Korea Rice Processing Food Association, the government has set a goal to reduce the supply of rice for processing to 310,000 tons by 2030 and set the supply ...