Sesame Production Up 48.5%... Reduced Monsoon and Last Year's Record Low Base Effect

Red Pepper Up 54.4%, High-Altitude Potato Down 1.1%

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] This year’s sesame production increased by nearly 50% compared to last year. The main reason is the favorable rainfall during the growing and harvesting periods in July and August. It is interpreted as a base effect following last year’s record low production.

According to the "2021 Production Survey Results for Chili Peppers, Sesame, and Highland Potatoes" released by Statistics Korea on the 22nd, this year’s sesame production reached 10,090 tons, an increase of 48.5% (3,295 tons) from last year’s 6,795 tons. Last year’s production was the lowest since statistics began in 1980, but this year it recovered close to the 2019 level (12,986 tons).

Sesame prices during the sowing period rose compared to the previous year, but the cultivation area decreased by 16.2% from the previous year.

However, due to favorable average rainfall during the growing and harvesting periods in July and August, crop conditions improved, and production per 10 ares increased by 77.2% to 53 kg.

This year’s chili pepper production was 92,756 tons, up 54.4% from the previous year. The improved rainfall compared to the previous year led to a sharp decrease in diseases (anthracnose), resulting in a 44.1% increase in production per 10 ares to 278 kg. The cultivation area also increased by 2,227 hectares (7.1%) to 33,373 hectares.

Highland potato production was 118,084 tons, down 1.1% from a year earlier.

The cultivation area decreased by 13.8% to 3,888 hectares compared to the previous year, and production per 10 ares fell by 13.8% to 3,037 kg.

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