Production Cost for a Sack of Rice Exceeded 100,000 Won Last Year

The cost to produce a sack of rice (80kg) exceeded 100,000 won for the first time last year.

On the other hand, profits from rice crops had dropped to its lowest since 1994, and it turned out that the domestic rice production environment has deteriorated.

The National Statistical Office announced yesterday that from their research results of the 2003 rice production cost, last summer’s Typhoon Maemi had sharply decreased rice production, and the cost to produce a 80kg sack of rice was 105,021 won, increasing 19.3 percent compared to 2002 (87,995 won). It is the first time ever for the average production cost of a sack of rice to pass the 100,000 won level.

The production cost for 10a of a rice field (302.5 pyong) increased by 11.9 percent since 2002 (529,609 won), and the downward tendency that had continued since 2000 had turned upward.

On the other side, the gross income for 10a was 917,303 won, falling five point three (5.3) percent compared to last year (968,623 won), showing a fall for two straight years.

Accordingly, the net earnings subtracting the cost of production from the gross income decreased 26.1 percent from 2002 (429,014 won) to some 324,575 won, and was the lowest after 1994 (278,948 won).

The profit rate, which shows the proportion of net earnings in the gross income, was 35.4 percent, dropping to its lowest since 1991 (39.0 percent).

Jin-Hup Song jinhup@donga.com