Sancheong-gun Accelerates Development of Subtropical Fruit Trees as New Income Crops

Support for Modernization of Apple Mango and Baekhyanggwa Production Facilities

Continued Management of Existing Banana, Cheonhyehyang, and Redhyang Facilities

Apple Mango, a New High-Income Subtropical Fruit Crop Cultivated in Sancheong-gun.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] The Agricultural Technology Center of Sancheong-gun, Gyeongnam, is accelerating the cultivation of subtropical crops, which are gaining attention as a new source of income, together with local farmers.

This year, the center established facilities covering 2,300㎡ for apple mangoes and 660㎡ for passion fruit under the ‘New Income Fruit Production Facility Modernization Support Project.’

Mango, nicknamed the ‘Queen of Tropical Fruits,’ is called a ‘super fruit’ due to its high health value. It is rich in various bioactive substances and nutrients, and excels in shape, color, taste, and nutrition.

Mango is a tropical fruit originating from Southeast Asia, including India and Vietnam. There are hundreds of varieties worldwide, but in Korea, the ‘Irwin’ variety, known as ‘Apple Mango,’ is predominant.

Imported mangoes have the disadvantage of losing their distinctive aroma and becoming easily mushy during transportation and quarantine processes. In contrast, domestically grown mangoes are harvested when fully ripe, resulting in superior sweetness and flavor, earning recognition as a premium fruit with steadily increasing consumption.

The price of apple mangoes is formed around 30,000 to 40,000 KRW per kilogram, and passion fruit is priced around 10,000 to 20,000 KRW. These subtropical crops command higher prices than general crops, attracting interest not only from farmers planning crop conversion but also from returnees to farming and rural areas, as well as young farmers.

In the case of Sancheong-gun, it has abundant sunlight and natural conditions suitable for crop cultivation thanks to the large temperature difference at the foot of Jirisan Mountain. Additionally, it is easy to transport after harvest, making it an advantageous area for cultivating subtropical crops.

Therefore, besides apple mango and passion fruit, which were supported by this year’s facility modernization project, subtropical crop cultivation complexes such as banana (20,303㎡), Cheonhyehyang, and Redhyang (22,000㎡) have been established.

An official from the county’s Agricultural Technology Center said, “Through continuous discovery of new income subtropical fruits and modernization support projects, we will expand the cultivation area of subtropical crops including apple mango and passion fruit. We will establish region-customized cultivation techniques to develop them as the main source of income for farms and strive to contribute to increasing farmers’ income.”

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