South Korea Fresh Apple insights

(Danyang=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Hyung-woo = Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do announced on the 12th that its representative agricultural specialty, 'Danyang Jukryeong Apple', has been exported for the first time this year.  The county forecasted that around 50 tons will be exported to Taiwan by the end of the year, starting with 13 tons the day before.  Jukryeong apples are produced in high altitude areas over 350m above sea level with large daily temperature differences, and are famous for their vivid color and good storage properties.  They are grown in limestone loess fields and have excellent quality and taste, and are well-received in the domestic market as well as Southeast Asian markets.  The county is conducting intensive pest control and disease forecasting activities and conducting pesticide residue tests in a timely manner to cultivate high-quality fruit trees.  In addition, it is actively supporting export logistics costs, packaging materials, sorting labor costs, and farming materials to produce high-quality apples.  Lee Gye-bok, the representative of Danyang Fruit and Vegetable Agricultural Cooperative, said, "This year's export price is higher than the domestic price, so export volume is expected to increase by 15 tons compared to last year (35 tons)."

[Reporter Woo Jeong-su, Korea Agricultural and Fishery Newspaper] When exporting domestic apples and pears to Taiwan, simultaneous sorting of products for export to other countries and domestic consumption will be possible all year round. Currently, an agreement has been reached with the Taiwanese government to ease quarantine requirements, and it is expected that this will be applied on site as soon as follow-up procedures such as revising related notices are completed. The National Institute of Animal Quarantine recently announced that it has reached an agreement with the Taiwanese government to ease export quarantine requirements so that simultaneous sorting of domestic apples and pears for export to Taiwan and products for export to other countries and domestic consumption will be possible all year round. Approximately 8,000 tons of domestic pears and 500 tons of apples are exported to Taiwan annually.

(Chungbuk=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Hyung-woo = Major agricultural products of Chungbuk, produced from fall to early winter, are starting to appear on consumers' tables. Fuji apples (aka 'Busa'), famous for their sweet and crunchy texture, have started to be shipped from Chungju, the main production area, and Goesan pickled cabbage, which is washed in rock salt and pickled with domestic sea salt and is very popular during the kimchi season, has also started to be ordered and sold. In Yeongdong, the main production area of persimmons, the work of peeling and drying dried persimmons is in full swing. Fuji apples are expected to have a slightly lower price than last year due to increased production, while dried persimmons, which had poor harvests, are expected to rise somewhat. The Chungju City Agricultural Technology Center announced on the 29th that Fuji apple production this year is about 20 tons per 1ha (cultivation area). Last year, 16-17 tons were produced per 1ha. Considering the Fuji apple cultivation area (770ha) this year, it is expected that about 15,400 tons will be shipped.  An official from the City and Agricultural Technology Center said, "This year, there were not many disasters such as typhoons, so the crop is better than last year."  According to Chungju Horticultural Agricultural Cooperative, the average price of Chungju Fuji apples for a 10kg box shipped to Garak-dong Auction Market in Seoul is 60,000-70,000 won. Last year, it exceeded 70,000 won.  However, the production of large apples with high marketability is expected to decrease.  Jeon Il-dong, executive director of Chungju Horticultural Agricultural Cooperative, said, "The overall production of Fuji apples will increase compared to last year, but the long-term summer heat wave will affect the growth of the fruit, so the proportion of large apples will decrease."  The Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI) Agricultural Observation Center also predicted that this year's apple production will be 18-22% higher than last year, saying that the overall growth was good in the 'October Observation'.  Other agricultural products are expected to have lower production than last year. In the case of cabbage, the abnormally high temperatures in the summer continued, so the insides were filled slowly and the production also decreased. Goesan-gun predicted that this year's pickled cabbage production (based on 1 box of 20kg) would be 1,014,000 boxes, a 5.4% decrease from last year (1,072,000 boxes). However, the price of Goesan pickled cabbage was set the same as last year.