WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — South Korea sees its lowest rice yield since 2014 due to unfavorable weather, according to a Dec. 12 Global Agricultural Information Network report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

A new estimate revised the country’s 2019 rice production to 3.744 million tonnes, a decrease of about 35,000 tonnes, and down 3.2% from the previous year.

The USDA said it expects a 15.2% stock-to-use ratio in market year 2019-20, reflecting lower production along with continued government policy encouraging the consumption of old rice for animal feed.

South Korea’s rice stocks are revised down to 681,000 tonnes from 717,000 tonnes in 2019-20. Stocks were at 22.8% of total domestic consumption in the market year ended October 2019, the USDA said.