S. Korea rice output falls to 30-year low

South Korea's rice production fell to the lowest level in 30 years due to bad weather conditions and a steady decrease in the size of rice paddies, a government report showed Tuesday. The report by Statistics Korea said the country's rice production reached 4.29 million tons this year, down 12.6 percent from 4.91 million tons in 2009 and the lowest since 3.55 million tons in 1980, when cold weather devastated output. "Unseasonably cold weather in spring, and hot, overcast skies during the summer months seriously affected the yield of the staple grain," an official said. "This year's harvest was also hurt by several typhoons that hit the country." Reflecting the bad weather conditions, the average rice production for a 10-are paddy fell 9.6 percent to 483 kilograms this year from a record 534 kilograms last year when South Korea had a bumper crop harvest, helped by ideal weather and no typhoon damage. The report, meanwhile, showed the total area of rice paddies in the country falling 3.5 percent on-year to an all-time low of 892,000 hectares, as more farmland was converted for other uses. A hectare is equivalent to 10,000 square meters. The size of South Korea's farmland has been decreasing by a yearly average of about 2 percent, as the government eased restrictions on rural development and moved to build more roads and other industry-related infrastructures over paddies and fields.