Jeonnam-Gwangju Expected to Account for 21% of National Rice Production... Supply and Demand to Be Monitored During Harvest Season

Projected production of 738,159 tons this year
Public stockpiled rice procurement planned; city to urge government to take additional measures

About 21% of this year's projected rice production nationwide is expected to come from the Jeonnam-Gwangju region. Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City plans to respond to supply and demand uncertainties by procuring public stockpiled rice while monitoring harvest yields and price trends in producing areas.

According to the "Results of the 2026 Rice Production Forecast Survey" released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics, projected rice production in the Jeonnam-Gwangju region is 738,159 tons. The area planted with rice was recorded at 148,349 hectares. The region ranks first among cities and provinces nationwide in both projected production and cultivated area.

Jeonnam-Gwangju ranks first among cities and provinces nationwide in both estimated production and cultivated area this year. Courtesy of Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City.

Nationwide, a decline in cultivated area affected the production forecast. The area planted with rice totaled 670,069 hectares, down 1.1% from the previous year. Although improved weather conditions and other factors raised projected production per 10 ares by 0.5% to 525 kg, total projected rice production is expected to fall by 21,000 tons (0.6%) to 3,518,000 tons.

The integrated special city plans to review the procurement schedule for public stockpiled rice and shipping conditions with relevant organizations, including cities, counties and Nonghyup. It also plans to ease inconveniences for farmers during procurement and check the status of rice purchases by Nonghyup and rice processing complexes (RPCs).

To assess supply and demand, the city will monitor private-sector inventories, shipping conditions and rice prices in producing areas. It will consider actual harvest volumes and demand alongside inventory and price trends and, if concerns about oversupply or falling prices arise, plans to ask the government to take measures to stabilize supply and demand, including additional procurement.

Son Myeongdo, director of the Agriculture, Livestock and Food Bureau of Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, said, "We will work to ease farmers' difficulties by procuring public stockpiled rice, managing distribution in producing areas and cooperating with relevant organizations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.