As the new year began, the price of rice at the production sites showed a strong upward trend, prompting the government to investigate the cause. The government is considering releasing publicly reserved rice as it announced additional measures if the actual inventory is found to be insufficient. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 5th that it has begun an administrative investigation into the current status of rice holdings by farmers and agricultural cooperatives in order to swiftly review measures appropriate for the rice supply and demand situation starting from the 4th. The government's move to assess inventory at production sites comes as the upward trend in rice prices at production sites continues despite the supply stabilization measures announced last month. On January 23, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that it would suspend the market isolation measures prepared as a supply and demand measure for the October 2022 harvest, which involved 100,000 tons. Additionally, the mandatory purchase volume standard for rice processing companies (RPC) that received rice purchase funds from the government last year was reduced from 150% to 120% to ease the competition for rice procurement. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs estimated that the supply of 2025 rice would be in surplus by about 90,000 tons due to the suspension of market isolation. Despite these measures, the price of rice at production sites, announced by the National Data Agency on January 27 for January 25, was 229,328 won per 80 kg, an average of one bowl, up 0.1% from 229,028 won on the 15th, marking a third consecutive rise in prices. Experts believe that the rise in rice prices at production sites is due to delays in shipment by some farms. According to the Rural Economic Research Institute of Korea's "Agriculture Outlook 2026," the amount of rice inventory held by farms for market shipment as of December last year was 20.6% higher than the previous year. The amount of 2025 rice purchased by agricultural cooperatives and private RPCs, as confirmed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, is about 93,000 tons less than the planned amount, and it is likely that this amount is tied up at production sites, according to analysis. "Although the rise in rice prices at production sites has eased somewhat since the government announced the suspension of market isolation, it is judged that there is still a wait-and-see attitude," said Park Han-eul, head of the Grain Monitoring Team at the Rural Economic Research Institute. Gang Hyung-joon, a researcher at GSnJ Institute, also said, "Given that the supply of 2025 rice is estimated to be in surplus by 90,000 tons, the recent price increase..."