SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's rice output logged the second-lowest so far this year due to the record-low rice paddies, statistical office data showed Thursday.
Rice production totaled 3,539,000 tons, down 1.3 percent from a year earlier.
It marked the second-lowest yield, continuing to go down for the fourth straight year. The lowest output was tallied at 3,507,000 tons in 2020.
This year's reduction was attributable to the record-low cultivated area.
The size of rice paddies across the country decreased 2.9 percent over the year to 678,000 hectares, marking the lowest since relevant data began to be compiled in 1975.
The country's rice consumption has roughly been on the decline for the past decades due to eating habit change. ■
