Rice consumption drops more than half in 30 years as Koreans avoid carbs

탄수화물 기피... 쌀소비 30년만에 반토막 People in Korea are increasingly pushing away the rice bowl with many believing -- rightly or wrongly -- that white rice can make you fat. Whether it's directly OR indirectly linked to the sharp drop in rice consumption is for the statisticians to decide... but the bottom line is that Koreans have been consuming less rice in the last few decades. Our Hwang Ho-jun has this report. Considering Korea's staple diet has traditionally been rice, the decrease in rice consumption in recent years is quite dramatic. According to Statistics Korea, an average person consumed an average 130 kilograms of rice in 1985. Thirty years later, that number plunged to 63 kilograms--a slide of more than 50 percent. What's causing the big drop is up for speculation, but many point to the recent popularity of low-carb diets in Korea. "Many people associate carb-filled food,... like white rice,... as a sure-fire way to a widening waistline. However, experts say such beliefs are misguided." "The general misconception is that rice is bad because carbs are bad for you. Bad carbohydrates are refined carbs like sugar. Rice and other cereal crops are not the dangerous ones. In fact, rice contains many essential nutrients such as amino acids. So I'd definitely say it's better to eat rice." The fading appetite for rice is also having an impact on the agriculture sector. A good harvest last year pushed up production to a six-year high of 4-point-3-3 million tons. Coupled with a sharp decrease in demand, overall rice inventory levels have soared. This has pushed prices below production costs, ultimately leading to a budget deficit for 40 percent of rice processing complexes in the country. To stabilize the supply and demand of rice in Korea, the agriculture ministry has started to roll out measures to promote rice exports and give the rice processing industry a boost. Hwang Hojun, Arirang News. Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS): http://www.facebook.com/newsarirang Homepage: http://www.arirang.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/arirangtv Twitter: http://twitter.com/arirangworld Instagram: http://instagram.com/arirangworld