Seoul: South Korea's barley output has risen for the first time in six years, attributed to favorable weather conditions and rising prices, data revealed Wednesday. Barley production reached 92,000 tons in 2025, marking a 30.1 percent increase from the previous year. The harvest season for barley spans from mid-June to early July.

According to Yonhap News Agency, this marks the first increase in barley production since 2019, breaking a trend of continuous decline through 2024. The rise in output is credited to an 8.3 percent year-on-year increase in the cultivation area, primarily propelled by higher prices observed during the planting season.

Agency officials noted that favorable weather conditions during the early growth period, from January to March, contributed significantly to the production increase. In addition to barley, garlic production saw an 8.8 percent year-on-year rise to 310,000 tons, while onion output increased slightly by 0.5 percent to 1.18 million tons, the data indicated.