Rice supplies to some traditional liquor breweries have been halted due to a shortage of rice. Brewery operators said they received notices from the NongHyup they had a transaction with that rice was in short supply and could not be supplied. But NongHyup said that never happened. It also answered "not applicable" to related questions in the National Assembly.
According to the liquor industry on the 2nd, local NongHyup branches in areas such as Paju, Gyeonggi, and Hoengseong, Gangwon (including rice processing complexes (RPC)) recently sent text messages and official letters to breweries in their jurisdictions saying they would halt or find it difficult to supply raw grain (rice) due to a rice shortage. A text message received on Aug. 20 by the head of Brewery A in Paju, Gyeonggi, which makes makgeolli, from a NongHyup manager said, "Supply of 2024 rice is suspended due to depletion of corporate rice inventory. The shipment timing for new crop rice is expected to be Oct. 20," adding, "A nationwide rice shortage has caused order volumes to surge (more than threefold), leading to a sudden inventory shortfall."
Afterward, Brewery A fully suspended brewing operations, including stopping the distiller. The head of Brewery A said, "NongHyup explained that even Hanaro Mart, which ordinary consumers use, was short of rice, and because they had to supply rice there, they halted rice supply to breweries."
As of today, the Paju NongHyup Rice Processing Complex (Paju NongHyup RPC) website still shows Paju Rice Cham Dream 10 kg and 20 kg (2024 crop) products as sold out. However, on the 17th of last month, Brewery A belatedly received word that among the reserve rice delivered to the Cheorwon RPC, there was Paju rice and that they would supply it.
The Hoengseong Eosapum Cooperative Business Corporation (Hoengseong NongHyup Integrated RPC), facing a rice shortage, also sent an official letter to breweries in its jurisdiction, notifying them that the supply price of the rice "Eosajinmi" would be raised from 3,250 won per kg to 3,500 won, and that if the inventory shortage persisted, supply could be halted. Some breweries in the jurisdiction stopped operating their facilities.
But NongHyup Economic Holdings failed to properly grasp the situation. When the office of Rep. Kim Seon-kyo of the People Power Party, a member of the Agriculture. Food. Rural Affairs. Oceans. and Fisheries Committee, asked how many notices and in which regions nationwide NongHyup branches had sent to traditional liquor companies (including local traditional liquor and makgeolli breweries) from January this year to now (late September) stating they would stop supplying rice due to shortages, NongHyup Economic Holdings submitted a response of "not applicable."
A NongHyup Economic Holdings official told ChosunBiz in a phone call, "A survey of 26 local NongHyup branches that had contracts with breweries on the network and 33 distilled liquor producers and breweries in transaction found no cases where notices of rice supply suspension were issued." The official added, "On the contrary, it appears that from the standpoint of breweries and manufacturers in the jurisdiction using local rice, they refused to buy because prices of 2024 local rice rose significantly."
However, breweries say they were notified that it was not a price issue but a lack of quantity. According to National Tax Service statistics, as of the end of last year there were about 1,600 breweries and distilled liquor manufacturers nationwide, but among them, NongHyup surveyed only the 33 with contracts on the system.
Rep. Kim Seon-kyo said, "Preemptive inspections and management are needed to prevent disruptions to related industries due to rice supply shortages," adding, "This National Assembly audit, we will thoroughly verify why the voices from the field differ from the materials submitted to the lawmaker's office and whether the voices from the field are being properly conveyed."