Revolutionizing the Grain Game: Online Wholesale Market Now Open for Processed Rice Trading

Recently, processing rice trading began in the online wholesale market for agricultural and marine products.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the rice for processing being traded this time is high-quality rice produced by the Nonghyup Rice Processing Plant (RPC). Rice processing companies and RPC are expected to trade 4,492 tons (about 4.3 billion won) of rice for processing by the end of the year.

The transaction takes place in the form of a group purchase in which the Korea Rice Processed Foods Association purchases and allocates the desired quantity from 1,744 member companies in bulk. Previously, individual companies had to visit RPCs directly to purchase rice for processing, which took a lot of time and money to complete the transaction, including negotiating transaction prices and checking quality.

For transactions in the online wholesale market, the Rice Processed Foods Association is a professional purchasing agency that performs administrative procedures such as price negotiation, quality verification, and quantity delivery, and streamlines the transaction process by integrating previously sporadic transactions.

The Rice Processed Foods Association said, “Previously, it was difficult to obtain raw materials of the desired quality due to a lack of information on sellers, but through the online wholesale market, companies can easily find the sellers they want, so industry satisfaction is high.”

This transaction is also the first case of group purchasing through an online wholesale market. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to establish a joint logistics support system, such as support for combined and delivery of small quantities of multiple items, to promote group purchasing in the future.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs expects that rice processing companies’ purchases of RPC rice will lead to increased rice consumption. The rice processing industry’s domestic sales exceeded 8 trillion won in 2022, and the average annual growth rate over the past five years has been growing, with the domestic market size reaching 7% and exports reaching 19%.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said, “As RPC rice, which has a strict quality control system, is used, it will be an opportunity for the rice processing industry to increase added value by differentiating products through higher quality raw materials.” He added, “As the rice processing industry grows and the volume of rice for processing increases, the government “It is expected that market rice consumption will increase along with grain usage, contributing significantly to stabilizing supply and demand,” he said.

The RPC industry is also welcoming online wholesale market transactions. It is believed that through group purchasing, a large amount of rice can be sold at once, which will help increase rice sales. Another advantage is that the payment is settled immediately after the transaction, so there is no need to worry about receivables arising. Nonghyup Economic Holdings plans to actively utilize the online wholesale market to expand new sales channels, considering the trend of grain markets moving from offline to online.

Park Soo-jin, Director of the Food Policy Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, “The rice processing industry is leading the growth of the K-food industry, and the online wholesale market is leading the innovation of the distribution structure of agricultural products.” “We hope to create a virtuous cycle in which rice is conveniently procured, expanding industrial growth, and RPC promotes rice consumption by creating new sales channels,” he said.

Reporter Ha Ji-hye hybrid@nongmin.com