World agricultural crop supplies and Korea's food security

Higher agricultural commodity prices are a particular concern for food importing countries like Korea that has a very low self-sufficiency ratio. Korean people eat approximately 4.5 million metric tons of rice each year, which is met without a problem by domestic production. The domestic production of corn and soybean which are important raw materials for commercial food processing and livestock feed is only minimal. Demands of corn and soybean in Korea are approximately 7.2 million and 1.3 million metric tons per year, respectively. Since Korean consumers are reluctant to accept biotech (GM) foods, Korean food processors are fighting an up-hill battle in purchasing non-biotech (non- GM) crops which are becoming scarce.