S.Korean Keumsil Strawberries exports to SE Asia

"Keumsil," one of South Korea's representative strawberry varieties, has been exported to Southeast Asia.

Jinju City in South Gyeongsang Province announced on Friday it has started exporting 1.6 tons of Keumsil harvested in the second half of this year to five Southeast Asian countries, including Hong Kong and Singapore.

Keumsil is a strawberry variety developed by the Gyeongnam Agricultural Research & Extension Services with a focus on export in 2016. Korean strawberries are highly popular in Southeast Asia due to their distinctive aroma, sweetness, and texture.

According to K-Berry, the organization for Korean strawberry exporters, the export value of strawberries in the first half of this year reached $49,970,680, accounting for 90% of the total export value of $55,448,133 last year. Additionally, the province contributed 94% of the national strawberry exports last year, with Jinju City alone accounting for 70%.

Strawberries, especially varieties like Keumsil, Seolhyang, and Kingsberry, dominate the majority of Korean strawberry exports. Keumsil has already surpassed last year's total export value with $44,070,504 in the first half of this year. Other varieties such as Snowberry, Kingsberry and Hiberry have also seen a 200-300% increase in export value compared to the same period last year. All of them, excluding Snowberry, are Korean varieties.

"Starting with the first exports in the second half of this year, we will actively explore and implement various strategies with stakeholders to boost exports and support export farmers as much as possible next year," a Jinju City official said. 

Write to Hay-Youn Kim at haykim@hankyung.com