Koreans consume less rice

Koreans consumed the least amount of rice per day, an average of 178.2 grams of rice per person, last year. In other words, each Korean eats less than two bowls of rice a day. A bowl of rice is about 100 grams of rice.

According to the “2014 Survey on Grain Consumption” released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday, a person consumed 178.2 grams of rice per day, a 3.2 percent decline from 184.0 grams in 2013. The amount is 61.7 percent of 289 grams in 1963 when the statistical research started, and only less than a half (47.7 percent) of 373.7 grams in 1970 when per capital rice consumption peaked.

Since 1980, per capita rice consumption per day has been on the decline. It fell to below 200 grams in 2010 (199.6 grams) for the first time. Last year’s rice consumption was 65.1 kilograms, a 3.1 percent decline from 67.2 kilograms in 2013.

Meanwhile, the annual consumption of other grains such as barley, wheat and beans increased to 8.7 kilograms last year, up by 7.4 percent from 8.1 kilograms in 2013. Since its record of 7.3 kilograms in 2012, the consumption of other grains has been on the rise for two consecutive years.

“The share of other grains in last year’s grain consumption was 11.8 percent,” said Statistics Korea. “An increasing interest in health appears to have increased the consumption of other grains for the recent few years.”