The yearly rice consumption per person was recorded at less than 56 kg. However, the consumption of other grains, excluding rice, has slightly increased for the second consecutive year. The total grain consumption stands at 64.4 kg, continuing a decline that has persisted for 44 years since 1981.
According to the '2024 grain consumption survey results' released by the Statistics Korea on the 23rd, last year's per capita grain (rice and other grains) consumption was 64.4 kg, a decrease of 0.3% (0.2 kg) compared to the previous year. This figure represents half of the per capita grain consumption of 120.5 kg in 1994, 30 years ago, indicating that people are consuming only half the amount of rice they ate three decades ago.
Among this, the rice consumption declined by 1.1% (0.6 kg), totaling 55.8 kg. The average daily rice consumption per person is 152.9 g, down 1.1% (1.7 g) from the previous year, roughly the weight of one large hot pack.
However, the consumption of other grains increased to 8.6 kg, marking a 4.9% (0.4 kg) increase from the previous year. It has been on the rise for two consecutive years. Other grains include barley rice, flour, mixed grains, legumes (beans, red beans, peanuts, etc.), and tubers (potatoes), all of which saw an increase compared to the previous year. The share of other grain consumption in total grain consumption stands at 13.3%.
In the enterprise sector, rice consumption increased by 6.9% (56,242 tons) to 873,363 tons. The food manufacturing industry saw an increase of 4.8%, while the beverage manufacturing industry rose by 11.5%. A closer analysis of rice consumption by sub-sectors in the food and beverage manufacturing industry reveals that alcoholic beverages account for 26.2% and rice cakes for 22.9%, followed by processed food for consumption (18.6%) and other grain processed products (10%).
Statistics Korea noted, "While rice consumption has increased in sectors such as processed food for consumption, alcoholic beverages, and lunch boxes, it has decreased in sectors such as noodles, macaroni, instant noodles, snacks, rice cakes, and sauces."