추곡수매가격 인상들의 변동추이와 그 정책적 함의

Changes in Government s Rice Purchasing Price and Their Policy Implications

Korean government has purchased rice since 1950 to stabilize the rice price and to procure reserved rice. At the rice harvest season, just before begin to purchase rice, setting purchasing price has been controversial every year. In some years purchasing price was set even long time after purchasing began. Although the final price was set through a heated discussion there remained some disagreements. For the rice purchasing price in the 90s, it can be seen as a high price in one respect while it can be seen as a low price in other respects. In this study, Korean government s rice purchasing price was reviewed comparing with production costs, price index paid by farmers, and calculated indicators through 60s and 90s. Even though low rate of increase in rice purchasing price became a trend, nominal price level and the amounts of purchasing rice have been increased continuously. However, either increasing purchasing price or amounts is impossible any more. Introducing and enforcing such policies as increasing farm size and direct income supports instead of price policies seem to be urgent.