중국의 자포니카 벼 재배와 한국 농촌

A Study on the Japonica Rice Farming in Rural China and Korea

The purpose of this study is to examine Japonica rice farming of China. Asian rice is divided into Japonica and Indica species. Japonica rice represents only less than 20% of Chinese rice output, but it can compete with Korea rice in both price and quality. The rise of income level has expanded the scale of production of Japonica rice in China. China’s adhesion to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has forced Chinese policy makers to face their obligations and responsibilities such as abolishing subsidies on agricultural exports. But being member of the WTO entry also helps China exercise and enhance its influential place in the global economy. Because of geographical proximity and the fact that Korea is ranked second among countries with which China still has a trade deficit, China may seek and plead for an opening of the protected Korean rice market to stabilize prices and prevent excess supply of Chinese rice. Though Korean rice farmers feel that prices are still low, Chinese rice remains far cheaper than Korean rice with the price gap is still on the rise. In anticipation of such fierce competition, Korea must carefully review its current policies and closely follow the evolution of rice production, marketing, and trade in China. This study also suggests some of the possible research using more recent data that should be conducted in the future.