Complaints from farmers are rising as the government has repeatedly implemented a quota tariff policy that cuts tariffs on imported agricultural and livestock products to lower food prices. As the number of subjects eligible for the quota tariff increases, income and production bases of Korean farmers are collapsing. It is pointed out that the quota tariff policy may reduce the self-sufficiency of Korean farmers and their ability to control supply and demand autonomously.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on July 4, the government announced that it would apply quota tariffs to 51 items, including vegetables, fruits, and food ingredients, in its “Economic Policy Direction for the Second Half of the Year” announced the previous day. The amount of support is about 160 billion won.

Thirty-seven items, including fresh fruits and cabbage, which were originally scheduled to be eliminated from the list at the end of June, would stay on the list until the second half of the year, while eight new items, including radishes and cocoa butter, were added. In addition, six items that were subject to quota tariffs in the first half of the year, including Chinese cabbage, carrots, and corn, would remain in place until September and October.

The quota tariff is a system that temporarily reduces the tariff rate on certain imports by up to 40 percentage points of the basic tariff rate. As a result, up to 10 percent tax rates may be applied, but most of them are tariff-free.
The government has been increasing the subjects of quota tariffs whenever the supply and demand of agricultural products is unstable as lower tariffs mean lower import prices. The number of items subject to quota tariffs by year is 22 in 2021, 38 in 2022, and 46 last year.

The government believes that the tariff rate for the food sector is higher than other industries due to the high proportion of foreign food ingredients. As of 2022, the tariff rates are 6.95 percent for meat, 8.39 percent for fish, 9.61 percent for dairy products, 23.43 percent for vegetables, and 7.93 percent for fruits, compared to an overall average of 1.49 percent. The government's increase in the number of quota tariffs as a countermeasure against high food prices is also attributed to this perception.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs claims that it is a necessary measure to stabilize prices and that it selects quota items at a level that minimizes damage to Korean farmers.

However, farmers have reacted strongly to the government's indiscriminate expansion of quota tariffs, saying their livelihoods are threatened.

Members of the "Farmers' Road with the People,” a coalition of eight farmers' organizations, including the Korean Peasants League, held a national farmers' rally in front of the National Assembly Station in Yeouido to condemn the government's policy of expanding imported agricultural products.

According to the Korean Peasants League, 200,000 tons of onions were imported with quota tariffs last year and this year, but the price of a 20-kilogram bag of onions was only 13,000 won this year, which is less than the production cost.

Kang Soon-joong, head of the Policy Committee at the Korean Peasants League, said, "Why should farmers take responsibility for the government's failure to properly respond to prices, which has led to higher production costs and reduced yields?" and added, "The overuse of low-rate quota tariffs will lower domestic agricultural prices in the short term, reducing farmers' income, destroying domestic production bases and destabilizing the country’s food industry in the long run."

In a report titled "Analysis of Price Trends of Agricultural Products," released in May, the National Assembly Budget Office suggested that while quota tariffs could contribute to temporary price stabilization, they should be approached cautiously as they can reduce farmers' self-sufficiency and ability to control supply and demand.

"In order to stabilize the supply and demand of agricultural products and improve their quality, it is important to organize producers by item so that they can autonomously expand the market for their agricultural products and promote supply and demand control and price stability," said an official from the National Assembly Budget Office.