South Korea Berry insights

Yeongdong-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, carried out promotional activities in Los Angeles, USA from the 5th to the 12th to develop overseas markets for grapes. This activity was conducted as part of a project to support overseas market sales of agricultural and specialty products, and to raise awareness of Yeongdong grapes in the US market and expand exports. Officials from the Hwanggan Grape Export Crop Association and Hwanggan Agricultural Cooperative held promotional and tasting events at 30 H Mart stores in the US and informed local consumers of the taste and quality of Yeongdong grapes. They also promoted Yeongdong grapes to Americans by informing them of the event through various promotional media such as newspapers, leaflets, and SNS. In addition, they held a meeting with H Mart importers.

There is a claim that fresh strawberries for export should be harvested when the coloring rate reaches 70-90% and that the phenomenon of varietal bias should be eliminated.  The Korean Society for Horticultural Science (Chairman Jeon Chang-hoo) held the ‘120th Fall Academic Conference’ at the Changwon Convention Center in Gyeongnam on the 7th.  In a special lecture titled ‘Changes in the Export Competitiveness of Korean Fresh Strawberries and Tasks to Be Solved,’ Yoon Hye-sook, head of the Horticultural Research and Extension Services at Gyeongnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services, pointed out that “the main export variety, ‘Geumsil,’ has a slow coloring rate and is more advantageous for storage when the fruit is unripe, so it tends to be harvested when the coloring rate is 40-50%.” She added that “Overseas buyers want sweet and bright red strawberries, but Korean strawberries sold on the shelves are underripe, creating a sense of disparity.”  Manager Yoon advised, “You should harvest when the coloring rate reaches 70-90%, like in Japan, where bright red strawberries are sold at overseas stores,” and added, “However, as the coloring rate increases, there are handprints and damage from being pressed, so instead of stacking them in existing packaging boxes, you should put them in single-tier harvest boxes.” He also pointed out that the main export varieties should be expanded. According to the Rural Development Administration, the export value of fresh strawberries was $69.67 million at the end of last year, of which 90% was the domestic variety ‘Geumsil.’ Manager Yoon said, “There are about 120 registered strawberry varieties, but only five varieties are actually cultivated, and since the export process is focused on a single variety, production is vulnerable to weather conditions.” Due to climate change, the occurrence of anthracnose and wilt diseases is increasing due to high temperatures during the seedling period, and frequent rain in winter is increasing poor flowering, which is reducing strawberry price competitiveness. Director Yoon emphasized, “Last year, as domestic strawberry production decreased by 15% compared to 2019, prices skyrocketed, and the market share of strawberries from the US, China, and Australia, which were previously cheaper than Korean strawberries, increased in the export market.” He continued, “We need to introduce smart farm technology that can automate cultivation and distribution to lower production costs, and reduce transportation costs through exports using CA (Controlled Atmosphere) container ships.”

Article by Diego Castagnasso, expert in fresh produce and blueberries, on the new source of fruit from the Asian country.