"K-Variety Development Project" Lotte Mart, "Leading the Promotion of Domestic Crop Varieties"

Increasing On-site MD and Participating from Seed Development Stage, Supporting Farmers through Contract Farming
Expanding Domestic Variety Products to 131 This Year, Setting a Goal to Achieve 100 Billion KRW in Sales

At Lotte Mart Seoul Station Branch in Bongnae-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, the domestic rice variety 'Chindeulmi' is being introduced.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] A wave of localization is sweeping through agricultural product varieties. As interest in health increases, consumers are showing greater interest and preference for agricultural products grown on Korean soil. Over time, the burden of royalties for foreign varieties is increasing, while domestically developed seed products are emerging as export items, accelerating the production and sales of excellent Korean varieties.

According to the Rural Development Administration, as of 2019, royalties paid amounted to 2.36 billion KRW for roses, 1.67 billion KRW for chamdarae (kiwi), and 4.08 billion KRW for mushrooms.

On the 28th, Lotte Mart announced that it will officially launch the K-Variety Project to reduce royalties flowing overseas and to spread the Korean agricultural wave. Until last year, Lotte Mart introduced a total of 41 types of domestically developed agricultural varieties to consumers. Lotte Mart stated that due to positive consumer responses, it decided to fully activate the K-Variety Project.

The domestically developed new variety "Black Winner Watermelon," introduced last year, was discovered through a three-party collaboration model (Lotte Mart, excellent farms, seed companies), with Lotte Mart involved in all stages from seeds to contract farming with excellent farms and in-store sales. It features a thin rind, crisp texture, and high sugar content, recording sales of 500 million KRW over two months in June and July 2020. The "Gam Hong Apple," developed as a native Korean variety, had lower public recognition due to its less attractive appearance and dark red color compared to Fuji apples. However, by developing the "Golden Sweetness" brand product emphasizing its excellent sugar content, it sold about 600 million KRW from October to December 2020, expanding sales channels for farms cultivating domestic varieties. The "Chindeulmi" rice, grown in Seocheon, Chungnam, sold about 1.2 billion KRW from August to December 2020. "Chindeulmi" is known for its soft texture and good stickiness and is resistant to pests and diseases.

Lotte Mart aims to expand the number of products to 131 and achieve sales of 100 billion KRW through the 2021 "K-Variety Development Project." Through this, it plans to increase sales of domestically developed agricultural varieties by 14.8%. To this end, Lotte Mart has increased the number of regional MDs (Merchandisers) familiar with local conditions nationwide from 10 to 16.

By expanding collaboration with seed companies and institutions, Lotte Mart plans to share distribution experience to secure market competitiveness from the seed development stage and actively participate in the entire process from production to distribution. For domestically developed agricultural varieties judged to be of excellent quality, Lotte Mart will provide stable sales channels and income to farmers through "contract farming" commitments, supporting farmers to actively engage in producing domestic varieties.

Jung Jae-woo, Head of Lotte Mart's Product Division, said, "Unlike foreign varieties, domestic varieties have no royalty fees, which helps increase farmers' income," adding, "We will continue to expand excellent domestic variety products."

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