Gyeonggi Province Establishes 'Basic Plan for Food Industry,' Strengthens Support for Traditional Liquor, Rice, Kimchi, and Food Processing Sectors

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hoon] Gyeonggi Province will expand non-farm income for local farmers from approximately 23 million won in 2020 to 25 million won by 2025.

To achieve this, the province plans to increase the proportion of domestic agricultural products used by food companies in Gyeonggi from the current 52% to 59.1% by 2025.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 4th that it has established the 'Gyeonggi Province Food Industry Basic Plan (2021-2025)' and will actively promote the revitalization of the traditional liquor industry, rice processing industry, kimchi industry, and farm food processing businesses.

The province explained that it established the 'Gyeonggi Province Food Industry Basic Plan' for the first time this year to promote food industry policies tailored to Gyeonggi's characteristics, with the goal of expanding the proportion of domestic agricultural products used by food companies and increasing non-farm income through expanded participation of farmers in the food industry.

Specifically, the province will implement policies in four sectors—traditional liquor industry, rice processing industry, kimchi industry, and farm food processing—while working to expand the use of local agricultural products, foster food industry participation by farmers, and expand the foundation for safe agricultural and food production.

First, in the traditional liquor industry, the province will pursue improvements in tax systems to create a favorable business environment.

Currently, only traditional liquor businesses located in the Seoul metropolitan area are excluded from income tax exemptions, so the province plans to propose revisions to the 'Income Tax Act Enforcement Decree' to relevant central government departments. In addition to consulting for improved traditional liquor quality, the province plans to conduct pilot programs for support with packaging materials and shipping costs as well as installation of café-style sales outlets.

In the rice processing industry sector, the province will develop Gyeonggi rice processed products and promote branding.

The province will provide loan support for facility improvements to rice processing companies, and plans to implement Gyeonggi rice branding from the beginning with rice processing businesses supported by Gyeonggi Province.

For the kimchi industry, the province will support expansion of kimchi-making culture and facility improvements for pickled cabbage at farms to secure sales channels for cabbage produced in Gyeonggi. In addition, to improve kimchi quality, the province will pilot support for the development and distribution of kimchi starter cultures.

To foster farm food processing businesses, the province will support the development and startup of agricultural and food products using local agricultural products and will establish standardization of processing technology.

The province plans to invest 9.6 billion won across 20 projects as the next year's budget within the five-year plan.

Hwang In-soon, director of the Agricultural Products Distribution Division at Gyeonggi Province, said, "The food industry is closely related to agriculture and serves as a stable distribution channel in a situation of weakened agricultural product consumption." He added, "The 'Gyeonggi Province Food Industry Basic Plan' we have established is expected to play an important role in ensuring the sustainability of Gyeonggi agriculture."

For more information, please contact the Food Industry Team at the Agricultural Products Distribution Division of Gyeonggi Province (031-8008-2622, 4445).