March 7, 2008

South Korea hoards grains to reduce impact of surging prices

South Korea bought 8 million tonnes of grain as of the end of February, exceeding its needs for the first six months of the year, to reduce the impact of surging global grain prices, the agricultural ministry said Thursday ( March 6).

The country's grain import requirement for this year is 14.1 million tonnes, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said in a statement.

South Korean buyers purchased 1.02 million tonnes of wheat as of the end of last month - of a total requirement of 2.30 million tonnes - but it is replacing some of its wheat needs with corn and other grains due to the high price of wheat for animal consumption.

Buyers imported 6.07 million tonnes of corn on a requirement for the year of 9.50 million tonnes and 940,000 tonnes of soybeans of 1.20 million tonnes required, the ministry said.