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[Agricultural, Fisheries, and Livestock News=Agricultural, Fisheries, and Livestock News] Concerns are growing among domestic farmers as the government has decided to strengthen cooperation on import hygiene procedures for U.S. fruits and vegetables in the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs recently decided to establish a dedicated "desk" to handle the approval process for importing fruits and vegetables such as apples and pears from the U.S. as a follow-up measure to the tariff negotiations. Until now, the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency only had regional-specific personnel for North America, South America, and the Middle East. The government explained that the U.S. dedicated desk is meant to enhance communication between the two countries' quarantine authorities regarding scientific analysis and procedure progress, but the establishment of a dedicated desk will expedite the import procedures for U.S. agricultural products beyond just enhancing communication.

(Imsil=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Dong-cheol = Jeonbuk Imsil County announced on the 25th that it is now fully harvesting apple mangoes, which were introduced as a pilot project to respond to climate change and rural aging. The county established a 3,995 square meter subtropical fruit orchard as a pilot project in 2021, and currently, three farms are cultivating apple mangoes and one farm is cultivating red mangoes. Apple mango farmer Choi Jeong-im said, "This year, we are harvesting 20 to 30 fruits per tree" and "In the future, we will steadily participate in cultivation technology education and increase production to match the size and sweetness preferred by consumers." The county plans to disseminate cultivation techniques in collaboration with related agencies such as the Rural Development Administration and support direct sales between farms and consumers, online sales, and promotion linked to regional festivals. County head Sim Min said, "We will continuously examine the potential for subtropical fruit cultivation and strive to create new sources of income for agriculture." sollenso@yna.co.kr

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