September 4, 2006

South Korea's agricultural output down 2.7 percent in 2005

South Korea's overall production of agricultural goods fell slightly in 2005 as unfavorable weather conditions diminished harvests and cheaper imports dragged down prices of farm goods, a government report said Monday (Sep 4).

The report, by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, showed the country's overall agricultural output falling 2.7 percent from 2004 to 36.27 trillion won (US$36.61 billion) in 2005.

Grain and vegetables suffered the steepest drop, dragging down overall agricultural production.

However, the country's livestock production have been steadily rising as greater demand spurred production.

Production of livestock goods gained 8.6 percent from a year earlier.

This year also marked the first time that livestock accounted for more than 30 percent of agricultural output, said Lee Yang-ho, a ministry spokesman.

The report noted grains, pork, beef, milk and chicken were the five most dominant goods in the agriculture and forestry areas last year.