South Korea may extend rice talks, farmers block roads

South Korea said on Monday that talks with nine countries on raising foreign rice imports could be extended into 2005, as farmers protesting the plans paralysed traffic on several bridges in the capital. The government had aimed to wrap up seven months of bilateral talks by the end of this year. "We will try hard to complete talks by the end of this year but if we fail, we may extend talks to next year with the agreement of the World Trade Organisation," Agriculture Minister Huh Sang-man told reporters.
South Korea had said last week that it had reached a tentative agreement with nine exporting countries to double rice import quotas to 410,000 tonnes by 2014. But farmers have vowed to scupper any moves to gradually free up the highly protected rice market.
Police said about 5,000 farmers were taking part in protests in the capital on Monday, including blocking bridges across the Han River with pick-up trucks.
A Reuters photographer said about 40 farmers trying to halt traffic had been detained by police.
Farmers frequently hold street protests to oppose the import of foreign rice, which is a quarter of the price of locally grown varieties.
Under concessions made at the World Trade Organisation's Uruguay Round of world trade talks, Seoul has an annual rice import quota set at four percent of local consumption, but that quota system expires at the end of this month.
Since May, South Korea has held bilateral talks with China, the United States, Australia, Thailand, Argentina, Egypt, Canada, India and Pakistan to set new rice import policy.
The ministry said last on Friday the participants had tentatively reached an agreement that Seoul would double its rice import quota to eight percent of local consumption by 2014.
South Korea and the rice exporters also tentatively agreed that 30 percent of imports should be allowed to be directly sold in stores by 2014, which is currently prohibited.
But Huh said South Korea would press the United States in talks this week for the quota to be cut below eight percent.
Fearing competition from rice that costs 552 won (50 US cents) per kg, hundreds of thousands of South Korea's four million farmers want a referendum before any change in import policy, but the government has rejected this.
"Let's oppose up the rice market, by staging protests to block roads with 10,000 cars," a South Korean farmer' group, the Korean Peasants League, said on its Web site, referring to the protests on Monday.