SEOUL: The South Korean government is seeking to buy wheat, soybeans and corns via future contracts this year in its first-ever move to stockpile non-rice grains to cope with soaring food prices, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
"We are trying to buy 552,000 tonnes of wheat, soybeans and corns in futures contracts this year, although we need to monitor market conditions," the Chosun Ilbo daily quoted an unnamed an agriculture ministry official as saying.
The move would cost a total of 10 billion won ($9 million) and secure 12 percent of annual domestic consumption of non-rice grains, equivalent to one-and-a-half months' consumption, the newspaper added.
Under the draft plan, the government will buy 249,000 tonnes of wheat, 255,000 tonnes of corns and 48,000 tonnes of soybeans from US cereal companies in futures deals.
The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries could not immediately be reached for comment.
Prices on US corn, soybeans and wheat have soared since last year due to poor production and rising demand from China and India, creating problems for the world's third-largest corn buyer.
South Korea, heavily dependent on costly imports of commodities and energy, plans to establish its own grain-trading company in Chicago in the first half of 2011 to mitigate the impact of global food price volatility.
The country will also boost pork imports this year as it is grappling with its worst outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in livestock.
US pork futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have recently rallied to record highs on expectations of more meat imports from South Korea.
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