Gokseong-gun Starts First Blueberry Shipment of the Year

Farmers Also Thrilled with Prices Four Times Higher Compared to June

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] Gokseong-gun (Governor Yoo Geun-gi) announced on the 11th that the full-scale blueberry harvest for this year has begun, starting with the first shipment from the farm of Han Sang-gil (66) in Ogok-myeon.

Blueberries are usually harvested from June when grown outdoors.

However, Gokseong-gun has advanced the harvest period to March-April by using heated cultivation in greenhouse facilities.

Thanks to this, consumers can enjoy fresh blueberries earlier, and farmers can earn higher incomes.

In fact, as of the previous day, the wholesale price for premium 1kg was traded at 65,000 KRW.

This price is more than four times higher than the average price of 15,000 KRW in June, the outdoor harvest season.

Accordingly, Gokseong-gun supports heating devices and multi-layer thermal curtains to expand early cultivation.

The early cultivation area, which was 1.3 hectares in 2016, has been expanded to 6.4 hectares this year.

Also, this year, a budget of 150 million KRW has been allocated for early blueberry cultivation, carrying out a total of six detailed projects.

Park Gwang-soon, president of the Gokseong-gun Blueberry Research Association, said, “Early blueberry harvest can increase farmers' income by more than twice compared to outdoor cultivation. Greenhouse cultivation prevents quality degradation caused by rain or heat damage, resulting in excellent quality.”

In fact, blueberries produced in Gokseong-gun are known for their high sugar content and firm flesh, thanks to the geographical characteristics of a clean mid-mountain area with large temperature differences between day and night, combined with the advantages of facility cultivation.

A county official stated, “Early blueberry cultivation is advantageous in terms of income compared to conventional farming. Also, as the number of early blueberry harvesting farms increases, the harvest period is dispersed. We plan to continue policies to expand early cultivation.”

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