South Korea said on Thursday it would wrap up this year talks with nine rice-exporting countries on a new rice policy that could double imports by 2014. Faced with stiff opposition from farmers, the government is pressing exporter nations to scale back a provisional agreement it made to raise imports of rice to 410,000 tonnes a year by 2014, representing 8 percent of local consumption.
After completing the talks, South Korea would submit its rice import policy to the World Trade Organisation on Dec. 29 or 30, officials at the Agriculture Ministry said.
South Korean farmers have strongly opposed moves to free-up the country's highly protected rice market.
Imported rice costs just 50 US cents a kg, a quarter of the price for locally grown varieties, but it is not sold in shops. Instead the government buys the foreign rice and sells it to food factories.
Fearing the competition, South Korea's 4 million farmers want a referendum on any increase in imports.
"We decided to wrap up the talks by the end of this year. Otherwise, lots of problems would be caused including a requirement to switch to a tariff system," a senior ministry official said.
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