Fresh Apple insights

Jeollanam-do announced that it will designate July and August as the 'concentrated collection period for giant applesnails' and conduct intensive collection activities in cities and counties to prevent crop damage from these applesnails used as an eco-friendly herbicide in rice farming. While giant applesnails are effective in weed control for eco-friendly rice cultivation, they can flow into rivers and agricultural waterways if not collected, and overwinter to cause damage by eating young rice plants in the following year. Accordingly, Jeollanam-do plans to intensively collect giant applesnails and their eggs around agricultural lands and irrigation channels during the two months as part of its comprehensive strategy to reduce ecological outflow and overwintering population.

Recently, the General Administration of Customs website updated the list of new fresh fruits and their exporting countries/regions that have obtained China's inspection and quarantine approval, adding Dutch apples and Colombian Tahiti lemons. Colombian Fresh Tahiti Lemon The lemon, also known as lime, is Colombia's third-largest fresh export fruit after bananas and avocados. Tahiti Lime is the most widely cultivated variety, capable of stable year-round supply. This variety has a thin skin, is seedless, fragrant, and juicy. The small fruits lack bitterness and are suitable for fresh consumption, juicing, and beverage production. Dutch Fresh Apples It is understood that 85-90% of Dutch apple production is sold domestically, with exports accounting for a small proportion. The Dutch apple cultivation area has continuously declined, from 15,000 hectares 26 years ago to 5,220 hectares in 2024. The annual Dutch apple production in 2024 is approximately 197,000 tons, of which about 43% (84,000 tons) are Elstar varieties, followed by Jonagold and Jonagored varieties (45,000 tons), Kanzi varieties (15,000 tons), and Rode Boskoop varieties (9,000 tons). Colombian Fresh Bananas Colombia is the world's fifth-largest banana exporter and has long been granted customs access. However, due to unstable high-quality sources, high maritime transportation costs, and intense market competition, it has not been able to achieve large-scale exports to China. Recently, while approving limes, the General Administration of Customs also updated the plant quarantine requirements for Colombian fresh bananas, further refining the quarantine details. The quarantine harmful organism of concern now includes Banana Bacterial Wilt Bacterium Type 2. If mature or cracked-skin bananas are found in shipments, those bananas will be destroyed. If Banana Bacterial Wilt Bacterium Type 2 is discovered, the entire shipment will be returned or destroyed.

(Chungju=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Hyung-woo = The Chungju City Council in North Chungcheong Province urged the government on the 17th to exclude strategic agricultural products such as apples from trade negotiations with the United States. The city council adopted a resolution containing this content at the second plenary session of its 296th temporary meeting. In the resolution, the council stated, "Chungju is a top-level apple production area nationwide, with a total cultivation area of 1,025 hectares, 1,893 farming households, and production volume of approximately 20,000 tons," adding that "currently, the region is suffering severe damage from fire blight." It further noted, "If apple imports from the United States are fully realized through trade negotiations under these circumstances, local fruit farmers will face an irreversible collapse, which will cause a chain of negative effects on the region's agriculture overall." The council emphasized, "We solemnly urge that strategic agricultural products, including apples, be excluded from any trade negotiations." vodcast@yna.co.kr