Last Year, South Korea's Grape Export Value Hits $31 Million 'All-Time High'... Shine Muscat Proves to Be a Big Contributor

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Last year, South Korea's grape export value reached a record high of 31 million dollars. The star product was Shine Muscat, accounting for nearly 90% of sales.

On the 27th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that last year's grape exports recorded a historic high of 31 million dollars, a 34.7% increase compared to the previous year. As of April this year, exports reached 7.227 million dollars, up 49.5% year-on-year, also a record high.

Despite adverse conditions such as prolonged rainy seasons and typhoons last year causing insufficient sunlight and delays in shipping export-grade products, remarkable results were achieved. In this process, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the integrated grape export organization provided and supported nutrients that aid photosynthesis, expanded quality improvement education, and guided packing houses to comply with dignity management. The government also supported measures to prevent a vicious cycle caused by a sudden surge in Shine Muscat shipments leading to domestic price and export price declines.

In particular, Shine Muscat, which accounts for about 88.7% of grape exports, has a storage period of up to about three months. However, through the pilot project for establishing a 'cold chain distribution system' by improving pre-cooling treatment and storage methods after harvest, the storage period was extended to five months. This made exports possible until March, two months longer than the main export season (November to January of the following year). The government evaluated that this contributed significantly to increasing farm income by leading to export prices more than 30% higher.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the last batch of long-term storage from the pilot project (March, 800kg) was exported to Vietnam, where consumer response was reportedly very positive, with products selling out on the day of sale. Vietnam, along with China, is one of the largest export destinations for Korean Shine Muscat. Last year, domestic grapes exported to Vietnam amounted to 8.147 million dollars, a 37.8% increase from the previous year. Vietnam's high economic growth has improved consumer purchasing power, increasing Shine Muscat consumption as gifts, and the favorable atmosphere toward Korean products (Hallyu) has also greatly helped consumption. In China, Korean Shine Muscat is recognized as a premium product.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs believes that the recent rapid increase in Shine Muscat cultivation area and the resulting price decline can be somewhat alleviated through long-term storage technology and export promotion. Additionally, in collaboration with the integrated export organization Korea Grape Export Federation and the Gyeongbuk Agricultural Research and Extension Services, a long-term storage technology manual will be produced and distributed nationwide.

No Suhyun, Food Industry Policy Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, added, "Thanks to the growth of grape exports from only 5 million dollars in 2016 to 30 million dollars last year, we plan to continuously promote efforts to expand premium Korean grape (Shine Muscat) exports through the dissemination and expansion of long-term storage technology, introduction of check prices, strict quality control, and promotional marketing."

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