대한민국 수산물 insights

Wando County in Jeonnam recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Fisheries Resources Agency for the successful hosting of the 26 Pre-Wando International Seaweed Expo and to achieve the national policy of becoming a carbon-neutral country by 2050. The signing ceremony was attended by Wando County Mayor Shin Woo-cheol, Korea Fisheries Resources Agency President Kim Jong-deok, and other related officials at the Wando County Office. The main contents of the agreement include promoting the 26 Pre-Wando International Seaweed Expo, successfully hosting the Sea Afforestation Day commemorative event, and establishing an information exchange and cooperation system to contribute to achieving the 2050 carbon-neutral national policy goals by overcoming the climate crisis. Korea Fisheries Resources Agency President Kim Jong-deok said, "The agency is committed to opening up happiness for future generations with abundant fishing grounds as a Korea that..."

97% of frozen cod comes from Russia, with an import price of $1.04 per kilogram, lower than the $1.63 per kilogram in the United States and $1.73 per kilogram in China. The average import price of cod is $1.06 per kilogram, up 9% from $0.97 per kilogram in the same period of 2024. In August, the total amount of seafood imported from Russia by South Korea increased by 2%, reaching 19,684 tons. The cumulative import volume from January to August decreased by 1% to 165,361 tons. Russian seafood accounts for 27% of South Korea's total seafood imports. The average unit price of Russian seafood increased by 2% to $3.17 per kilogram. South Korea's heavy reliance on Russian seafood means that the future stability of its supply and prices depends on international developments and fluctuations in Russian catch volumes.

(Daejeon=Yonhap News) Reporter Park Joo-young = The Korea Forest Service announced on the 23rd that it expects a decrease in the production of matsutake mushrooms this year due to rapid climate change and large-scale forest fire damage. Matsutake mushrooms are forest products that cannot be cultivated artificially, and are mainly produced in mountainous areas such as Gangwon and Gyeongsangbuk provinces in South Korea. The harvesting period is from late August to late October, and requires cumulative rainfall of over 500 to 600 mm, but this year, due to drought in the Gangwon region, the emergence of matsutake mushrooms has been somewhat delayed. On the 22nd, the Inje and Yanggu County Forest Association began the first auction of matsutake mushrooms, and full-scale production is expected to start from the end of September. The production of matsutake mushrooms has been decreasing due to climate change and pine forest damage. The amount of matsutake mushrooms auctioned by the forest association was 124 tons in 2020, decreased to 108 tons in 2021, 67 tons in 2022, and increased to 165 tons in 2023, but sharply decreased to 78 tons last year. In particular, this year, due to large-scale forest fire damage in the main production area of matsutake mushrooms in Gyeongbuk province, it is predicted that the production of matsutake mushrooms will decrease. The Korea Forest Service has been conducting research on artificial production of matsutake mushrooms since 2001 to restore matsutake mountains and expand production. In addition, the Korea Forest Service explained that it is supporting the creation of alternative crops to replace matsutake mushrooms in forest areas affected by large-scale forest fires, with a budget of 32.6 billion won included in the supplementary budget this year. Kim Yong-jin, Director of the Private Forest Management Income Division at the Korea Forest Service, said, "This year is a difficult year for matsutake mushroom production areas due to large-scale forest fires and drought," and "We will continue to promote various matsutake research and support policies to stabilize the income of matsutake harvesting areas as soon as possible." jyoung@yna.co.kr