South Korea is seeking to ship rice to the vast Chinese market as it moves to lift export restrictions on the staple grain, officials said Tuesday.

The agriculture ministry said it was seeking revisions to the outdated laws and clauses that restrict the volume and price of rice shipped abroad to open up the export market starting as early as March. The restrictions had been put in place when the country did not produce enough rice to feed its own people, which is no longer the case.

Last year, the country's rice harvest hit 4.24 million tons, much higher than the annual consumption of about 4 million tons.

The country exported only 2,000 tons of rice for all of last year.

Ministry officials say exporting rice can help balance out supply and demand of the grain and stabilize domestic prices, especially after South Korea agreed to tariffed rice imports starting this year.

An official said Seoul has been asking China since 2009 to allow South Korean rice into the country, but Beijing has yet to start studies on disease and insect pest risks required for such trade.

Beijing is a net importer of grain products, and with demand for higher quality foodstuffs, it could become a good overseas market, officials say.

"Rice poses less disease and insect risks compared to fruits and vegetables," the ministry official said. He pointed out that the government asked China to conduct risk assessments twice last year and has used various channels to nudge the country to consider buying rice from South Korea.

Local rice producers have also said that they may be able to ship rice to China if all restrictions are lifted.

"Because of the high price of locally produced rice, the grain can only be sold in select markets and to Koreans living abroad,"

another official said. He pointed out that Japan slaps very high import tariffs on rice, making exports to that country unlikely and leaving China as the only viable market. (Yonhap)