KOREA, REPUBLIC OF (22 November)

Official reports indicate that the country harvested a bumper rice crop for the second consecutive year, in which production is estimated at 5.35 million tons. At this level, output is the highest in six years, some 28 000 tons higher than last year’s good crop and around 6 percent above average for the preceding five years. Production is also around 10 percent higher than the official target for the year. This year’s good production is attributed to favourable weather and government efforts to encourage land under production.