S. Korea sees bumper rice crop in 2009

(ATTN: RECASTS 2nd para for clarity)
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's rice production edged up 1.5 percent
on-year in 2009, thanks to record high yields of the staple grain, a government
report showed Thursday.
Local farmers are estimated to have harvested 4.91 million tons of rice this
year, compared with 4.84 million tons a year earlier, according to the report by
Statistics Korea.
Good weather conditions and lack of pest or typhoon damage this year caused
average rice yields to shoot up to 534kg per 10 "ares" or one-tenth of a hectare,
it said, despite a 1.2 percent dip in the paddies that grew rice in 2009. The
total size of the country's paddies stood at 924,000 hectares this year. A
hectare is equivalent to 10,000 square meters.
The statistical office said this is the highest yield tallied since the
government started announcing rice production data. Last year, 520kg of rice was
produced from a 10 ares plot of land.
The total that will be harvested is also 234,000 tons more than what was
predicted in mid-October.
Related to the larger-than-expected harvest, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries said the government will buy up 710,000 tons of rice this
year and isolate this from the market to help stabilize rice prices.
The total includes the 370,000 tons that the government bought to maintain the
country's strategic reserve in case of emergency situations.
Rice prices had fallen last month but started to stabilize coming into November
after the ministry said it will purchase large quantities of rice.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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