FTAs bring influx of tropical fruit

Tropical fruits such as avocados and mangosteens, once considered alien here, are high in demand. / Korea Times file

Tropical fruits once considered alien to Korea are now in high demand, thanks to the nation’s free trade agreements (FTAs).

Mangos are taking up a large portion of fruit sales at local retailers, and avocado and mangosteen sales are rapidly on the rise.

Some $4.87 million worth of avocados where imported last year, according to the Korea Customs Service, Thursday. The figure is 57.5 percent up from a year earlier.

As for mangosteens, $3.06 million dollars worth of the fruit was brought into the country, up 85.6 percent. Some $521,000 dollars worth of durians were also imported last year, a three-fold increase.

Sales at domestic retailer E-mart also shows that sales of avocados, mangosteens and blueberries are up. The sales of each increased by 57 percent, 124 percent and 92.4 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.

In the case of dragonfruit, of which only small quantities were sold in gift packages in 2013, E-mart increased the quantity and lowered the price of the fruit, making a four-fold increase in sales.

“Demand for tropical fruit has increased as prices became cheaper. Due to FTAs with Australia and New Zealand, prices will fall further,” an industry source said.