S.Korea rice production hits 37-year low

Seoul: South Korea's rice production hit a 37-year low in 2017 due to continued fall in rice growing area, the government said on Tuesday.

Rice production stood at 3,972,000 tonnes this year, a decrease of 5.3 per cent from 2016, Xinhua news agency reported.

It was the lowest since 3.55 million tonnes of rice was produced in 1980.

The low outcome was attributed to the continued decline in the rice cultivation area, which fell from 778,734 hectares in 2016 to 754,713 hectares in 2017.

The government also encouraged farmers to cultivate a proper amount of rice to help sell it at a proper price.

The amount of rice raised in 10 hectares of land shed to 527 kg this year from 539 kg in 2016.