SEOUL, March 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's parliament on Thursday passed a bill to make the government's purchase of excess rice mandatory.
The revised grain management act was passed at a plenary session of the National Assembly, led by the opposition Democratic Party, with 169 in favor, 90 against, and seven abstentions out of 266 lawmakers present.
Under the revised act, the government is obligated to purchase all overproduced rice when the excess production is 3-5 percent higher than rice demand or when the rice prices fall 5-8 percent compared to the previous year.
The Democratic Party pushed the revision to stabilize rice prices and income for farmers, while the government and the ruling People Power Party opposed it citing side effects such as the burden of purchase costs and the reduced competitiveness in the agricultural sector.
