Farmers spent 31,631 won (24 U.S. dollars) to cultivate 20 kg of rice in 2022, up 9.3 percent from the previous year, according to Statistics Korea.
The production costs per 1,000-square-meter rice paddy gained 7.9 percent to 854,461 won (658 dollars) last year.
It was attributable to the sharp increase in fertilizer prices, which surged 71.4 percent on the back of higher global commodity prices.
Rice output per 1,000-square-meter rice paddy reduced 2.3 percent to 518 kg in 2022 owing to the lack of daylight hours and precipitation.
The higher production costs and the lower output for rice led the net income of rice farmers to tumble 36.8 percent last year at 317,275 won (244 dollars) per 1,000-square-meter rice paddy.
To stabilize income for rice farmers, the parliament passed a bill last week to make it mandatory for the government to purchase all overproduced rice when rice production is higher than rice demand or when rice prices fall sharply.
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