Chinese Rice, Kimchi Gain Popularity

Jeong Jeong-gil, a researcher at the Korea Rural Economic Institute and expert on agriculture in China, visited Gyeonggi Province, a place famous for its rice production, with Chinese food science professors.

When Jeong showed his guests Korean rice with a proud look on his face, the Chinese professors, after a long gaze at the rice, shook their head in disapproval and said, “Our rice is better.”

On his guests’ response, Jeong said, “I wanted to show off our high-quality rice. But their response was so unexpected.”

Increasingly greater amounts of Chinese agricultural products are entering the Korean market.

Chinese table rice has been highly popular with Korean consumers since its first imports this year. Though sluggish for a while due to parasite eggs found in imported kimchi earlier, sales of imported kimchi are picking up.

Even if the Chinese professors might have reacted in a somewhat exaggerated way, it is true that Chinese farmers have been raising the quality of their products. Chinese agricultural products are mounting a “second round of attacks” on the Korean market with improved quality as well as lower prices.

Rice from China Sells Well–

The Korean authorities started an official auction of table rice imported from China in early May. By July 19, just two months after the first auction, 12,752 tons were sold out.

This year, Korea bought rice not only from China but also from the U.S. and Thailand.

Unlike Chinese rice, Carlos, a variety from the U.S., has not been given much attention. Though auctioned around the same time, the rice failed to be sold more than 10 times in earlier auctions. Rice from Thailand, called “Annam rice” in Korea, has failed to appeal to Korean consumers and remains just piled up.

Lee Ho-seon at the Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation says, “We were surprised because rice from China was sold out faster at higher prices. Only when Chinese rice ran out, did people begin buying American rice.”

Though somewhat unexpected, the popularity of Chinese rice is not entirely surprising.

The rice imports came from Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang, three provinces in northeast China. The rice cultivated in the area is just as short and round-shaped as Korean varieties. Moreover, the taste of Chinese rice is very similar to that of Korean rice.

According to a recent study by the Korea Food Research Institute, Chinese rice is of lesser quality in protein and amylose, two of the major components that determine taste. Still, the difference is so subtle that it goes unnoticed by almost all consumers.

It is estimated that Chinese rice is in wide circulation, particularly in the food service industry, because nearly all consumers cannot tell the difference and the compliance with the rules of origin is not mandatory.

In addition, imported Chinese rice costs around 30,000 won per 20 kg in the retail market, much less expensive than domestically produced rice (40,000 ~ 60,000 won).

Kimchi Imports Increase –

Since last October when parasite eggs were first found in kimchi from China, sales of kimchi imports from China are on the fast recovery.

By July this year, Korea bought 92,294 tons of kimchi from China, a 57 percent jump year on year (58,930 tons). If you convert tons into dollars, the sales are worth $45.93 million, a 75 percent increase.

Despite the incident in last October, the food service industry prefers imported Chinese kimchi because of its super low price.

In addition to the price competitiveness, some cautiously put forward their analysis that the quality, too, is gradually improving.

An insider in the food industry explained, “At the beginning, the quality was very poor. As Koreans built kimchi plants in China, however, production know-how transfers happened. Now the quality improved quite a lot, and it is very hard to tell which one is made in Korea and which one is made in China.”

Reportedly, the Chinese government forced 16 kimchi plants run by Koreans to shut down in response to the parasite egg incident while encouraging facility improvements by extending financial assistance to the kimchi plants owned by Chinese.

More Chinese Agricultural Products Will Enter the Korean Market –

In May this year, Japan introduced a “positive list” system into its agriculture sector. Rules under the system are applicable to the customs procedures concerning agricultural and food products. Under the positive system, only a pre-approved list of chemicals is exempt from the obligatory quarantine. All of the rest is subjected to the authorities’ strengthened inspection.

Following the systematic change, Korea’s agricultural exports to Japan fell. Korea sold $596 million worth of produce, an 18 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.

In contrast to China’s low-cost strategy in the Korean market, Japan’s farmers employ a high-quality strategy. The higher Japan sets up its agricultural trade barriers, the more likely China sets its sights on the Korean agricultural market to sell its premium products.

Indeed, the Chinese government is known to be promoting the production of high-quality agricultural products qualified for government certification. For instance, “Green Food Project” is underway in China. Jeong at the Korea Rural Economic Institute warns, “Besides rice and kimchi, Chinese vegetables are fundamentally very similar to ours because the Chinese planted the seeds taken from Korea and Japan. Most Koreans think they consume agricultural products from China only when they eat out. But in the future, they will consume more of them even at home.”

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