grains, food purchases
A photo published by North Korean media in January 2023 of bags of grains being unloaded on a truck in front of a grain selling facility. (Rodong Sinmun-News1)

Residents of the border areas of North Hamgyong Province are praising North Korea’s food policy as the price of imported rice remains stable even as the KPW-RMB exchange rate rises.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Daily NK source in North Hamgyong Province said that many people in Hoeryong “recently worried that the price of imported rice would rise as the KPW-RMB exchange rate rose to nearly KPW 2,000, but the price defied expectations and remained stable.” He said that the price of imported rice used to rise when the KPW-RMB exchange rate rose, “but now the price doesn’t rise even when the exchange rate rises.”

According to the source, the market exchange rate for the yuan in Hoeryong recently rose to an all-time high, but the price of imported rice has remained in the range of KPW 6,000 per kilogram. This is in contrast to past trends, when the price of imported rice rose with the exchange rate.

North Koreans say the policy of state-directed food distribution is a major reason why rising exchange rates have had little impact on the price of imported rice.

The North Korean government has actively controlled and managed food distribution and sales since opening and operating grain stores nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. The state manages food distribution by selling grain at below-market prices through the grain shops, while intensively cracking down on private rice sales in marketplaces.

The government-run food stores have often failed to provide food consistently when they could not secure enough grain, but one food store in Hoeryong currently has enough stock to open every day.

“There is never a shortage of food in the state-run grain shops because of the recent large-scale grain imports from Russia and China,” the source said. The shops impose a 10-kilogram limit on daily purchases per person, but many people visit them anyway because they operate daily, he added.

“At first, people complained about the state’s policy of cracking down on private rice traders and telling everyone to buy food from the state-run grain stores,” he said. “But despite the crazy rise in the KPW-RMB exchange rate, the price of imported rice is holding steady, so people agree that the state’s food policy finally seems to be having an effect.”

If the price of imported rice had felt the impact of the rising exchange rate, it would have surpassed KPW 8,000 per kilogram. But the price has remained in the KPW 6,000 range.

When the government-run grain stores are open every day, as they are now, the government-led food distribution policy appears to be having a positive impact on the lives of residents in border areas like Hoeryong that rely heavily on grain imports.

Skepticism remains despite positive signs

However, some people remain skeptical, saying they will have to wait and see if the policy will still be effective if the KPW-RMB exchange rate continues to rise.

“In North Korea, which depends on food imports from abroad to feed everyone, they won’t be able to maintain the current price of imported rice if the exchange rate doesn’t fall, because the state will have to pay the difference,” the source said. “That’s why people say we have to wait and see if the price of imported rice will remain stable in the future.”

Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.

Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.

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