By Kim Jae-won
The free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States has resulted in a wider range of fruit being imported to Korea, changing the local appetite especially for cherries which are now more affordable.
Imports of cherries spiked 81 percent in the first half from a year ago as 24 percent of the tariffs were eliminated, a state-run think tank said Wednesday.
According to Nonghyup Economic Research Institute, Korea imported 3,923 tons of cherries for the first six months of this year, up 81 percent from the previous year. In particular, cherry imports increased 118 percent to 2,873 tons in the month of June from a year ago.
Most of the cherries are from Washington, Oregon and California. U.S. cherries accounted for 73 percent of the total imports of 6,454 tons last year. In terms of import price, the portion reached 86 Experts say the Korea-U.S. FTA, which has been effective since March 15 after a long period of negotiations, contributed to increasing imports of summer fruit. On the back of the agreement, five kilograms of cherry sold for 80,183 won at the whole sale market in June, down 13 percent from a year ago. For the first 20 days last month, the average price plunged 25 percent further to 60,536 won from the previous month. percent.
Industry watchers worry that the cherry fever strips the demand for local summer fruits such as peaches and plums. “We need to check whether consumers are moving from local fruits to imported cherries,” said Park Jae-hong, a researcher at the Nonghyup institute.
The agricultural ministry says that if the cherry boom continues, it will replace watermelon as the top summer fruit. Experts say people consume a set amount of fruit regardless of the kind of fruit which means increasing sales of one fruit leads to a decline for another one. U.S. cherries are in season between May and August, overlapping with many local summer fruits.
As cherries gain popularity here, local farmers are responding accordingly. Korean cherry production reached 236 tons last year accounting for 3.7 percent compared to the entire amount imported, but more and more farmers, in particular in Gyeonggi and Gyeongsang provinces, are adopting the fruits as a new crop, the report said.