South Korea will maintain a 513 percent tariff on imported rice next year while applying import quotas on major rice exporting countries.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Tuesday, South Korea reached a deal with China, the U.S., Vietnam, Thailand and Australia -- five countries which had been disputing South Korea's high rice tariffs through the World Trade Organization since 2015. 

After years of negotiations, South Korea reached an agreement with the five countries that allows Seoul to keep its 513 percent tariffs on imported rice. 

In return, South Korea agreed to introduce annual import quotas for each country, with the highest quota applied to China with 157-thousand-195 tons of rice and the lowest applied to Australia, with 15-thousand-595 tons.

Rice imports from these two countries, along with the U.S., Vietnam and Thailand, will constitute 95 percent of the 408-thousand-700 tons subject to five percent tariffs under the government's Tariff Rate Quota(TRQ). 

The remaining five percent, or 20-thousand tons, will be open for other countries. Additional rice imports exceeding the TRQ will be subject to the full 513 percent tariff rate.