Last Year, Wild Plant Production Costs Up 3% and Income Up 2.5%... Highest Income Wild Plant is 'Gomchwi'

Provided by Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Last year, the production costs of seven major domestic forest products increased by an average of 3%, and forest household income rose by an average of 2.5%. Among individual items, the forest product with the highest income was Gomchwi (facility cultivation).

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 14th the results of the production cost survey for forest products such as chestnuts, jujubes, walnuts, astringent persimmons, shiitake mushrooms, deodeok, and Gomchwi produced last year.

According to the survey results, Gomchwi produced in open fields increased from 34,177,000 KRW in 2018 to 35,496,000 KRW (3.9%), showing the highest rate of increase in production costs.

Following this were Gomchwi facility cultivation from 75,511,000 KRW to 78,414,000 KRW (3.8%), astringent persimmons from 18,837,000 KRW to 19,426,000 KRW (3.1%), jujubes from 28,850,000 KRW to 29,697,000 KRW (2.9%), deodeok 2-year single cropping from 14,958,000 KRW to 15,389,000 KRW (2.9%), deodeok 3-year single cropping from 30,945,000 KRW to 31,726,000 KRW (2.5%), chestnuts from 3,866,000 KRW to 3,956,000 KRW (2.3%), and walnuts from 11,734,000 KRW to 11,990,000 KRW (2.2%).

The increase in production costs is attributed to wage increases. In fact, last year, while costs such as outsourced farming fees and rental fees decreased compared to the previous year, the rise in daily wage rates led to an increase in labor cost expenditures for forest households. Regarding individual items, shiitake mushrooms saw increased production costs not only due to higher labor costs but also due to rising prices of shiitake logs and sawdust substrates.

Fortunately, last year’s favorable weather conditions and minimal pest damage led to increased production volumes for all items except chestnuts, resulting in an average 2.5% increase in forest household income compared to the previous year. However, chestnuts experienced a decrease in production due to typhoon damage in September and insufficient sunlight, causing income to drop by 11.3% compared to the previous year.

In terms of annual income per hectare by forest product, Gomchwi (facility cultivation) was the highest at 63 million KRW, and among fruit types, jujubes had relatively high income at 19 million KRW compared to other items.

Meanwhile, last year, labor productivity was highest for deodeok (2-year production), and land productivity was highest for Gomchwi (facility cultivation). Labor productivity per unit labor hour for deodeok (2-year production) was 43,000 KRW, more than twice that of walnuts and Gomchwi.

Additionally, land productivity per unit land area showed that Gomchwi (facility cultivation) generated added value of 70 million KRW per hectare.

Im Sang-seop, Planning and Coordination Officer at the Korea Forest Service, stated, "The forest product production cost statistics will provide valuable information for forestry workers and urban residents dreaming of returning to rural life. The Korea Forest Service will continue to implement support policies for forestry management and forest product market development to contribute to increasing the income of forest product producers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.