SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's rice output was expected to fall for a fifth straight year, driven by a record-low rice cultivation area, the statistical ministry's estimate showed Thursday.
Rice output was projected to reach 3.518 million tons in 2026, down 0.6 percent from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
If the projection holds true, it will represent a continuous five-year decline since 2022 and the lowest production volume in six years since 2020.
The main driver behind the five-year downward trend was a reduction in the cultivation area.
The total land used for rice farming shrank 1.1 percent from a year earlier to 670,000 hectares in 2026, marking the smallest rice cultivation area since records began.
Rice productivity saw a slight improvement due to favorable weather conditions.
Yield per 10 ares, or 1,000 square meters, was forecast to rise 0.5 percent to 525 kg this year. ■
