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REPUBLIC OF KOREA, occupying the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, with an area of 99,000 km2, has large areas of coastal plains in the west and south used mainly for agriculture. Arable land is about 20%. The country has become mainly industrial and agriculture is only 5% of the GDP.
General information
- GNI per capita PPP$, 2000: 17,300
- Internal renewable water resources: 66.1 km3
- Main food consumed: rice, wheat, sugar and honey, oil and fat, alcohol beverages
- Rice consumption, 1999: 94.2 kg milled rice per person per year
Production constraints
There are several constraints to sustainable rice production in the Republic of Korea:
- High costs of production
- Low return from rice production and aging of rice farmers
- Increasing preference of the population for japonica rice
- Because of already high national yield, a further increase in rice yield requires the development and use of novel technologies
- High possibility of water shortage during early stages of crop
- Flood caused by heavy rains during July-September
- Salinity caused by tidal influence in coastal areas
- Micronutrient deficiency, especially Mg, Zn, and Bo
- Weeds, insects, and disease (blast)
Production season |
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|
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Planting |
Harvesting |
Main season |
May-Jun |
Oct-Nov |
Basic statistics, Republic of Korea |
|
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
Rice |
Area harvested (ha) |
1,236,768 |
1,244,341 |
1,055,337 |
1,056,483 |
1,058,600 |
1,072,000 |
Yield (t/ha) |
6.4 |
6.2 |
6.1 |
6.4 |
6.9 |
6.6 |
Production (t) |
7,855,262 |
7,721,968 |
6,387,301 |
6,779,290 |
7,270,500 |
7,067,000 |
Rice imports (t) |
306 |
1,611 |
731 |
61,618 |
155,818 |
na |
Paddy imports (t) |
6 |
0 |
0 |
39 |
20 |
na |
Rice exports (t) |
155 |
544 |
493 |
47 |
6 |
na |
Paddy exports (t) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
68 |
4 |
na |
Others |
Population, total (x103) |
40,806 |
42,869 |
44,949 |
46,109 |
46,480 |
na |
Population, agriculture (x103) |
9,547 |
6,917 |
5,348 |
4,570 |
4,334 |
na |
Agricultural area (x103 ha) |
2,220 |
2,179 |
2,048 |
1,969 |
na |
na |
Irrigated agricultural area (x103 ha) |
1,325 |
1,345 |
1,206 |
1,159 |
na |
na |
Total fertilizer consumption (t) |
807,000 |
915,941 |
972,595 |
874,000 |
na |
na |
Tractors used in agric. (no.) |
12,389 |
41,203 |
100,412 |
157,888 |
na |
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Source: FAOSTAT online database. |
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