[Global Star K-Food]⑦ Strawberries Picked from Korean Farms Sold in Vietnamese Markets Two Days Later

Flying to Ho Chi Minh by Plane
330g Pack Sold for Around 18,500 Won
Sweet and Fragrant Best Seller

"Tony Fruits. Xin ch?o (Hello, this is Tony Fruits)"

On the 11th, I visited Tony Fruits, a specialty imported fruit store located in District 4, a densely populated residential area in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Upon entering the caf?-style shop, gift sets of packaged fruits centered around Korean pears decorated the entrance. Passing the counter and going further inside, 'K-Strawberries' were displayed at eye level. These are 'Bugwon Strawberries' produced in Sancheong, Gyeongnam, and exported.

Tony Fruits, an imported fruit specialty store located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, visited on the 11th

K-Strawberries, along with Korean Shine Muscat grapes, are considered some of the most expensive fruits at Tony Fruits. A 330g pack costs 348,000 VND (about 18,583 KRW). At Tony Fruits, Korean Shine Muscat grapes are sold at 600,000 VND per kg (about 32,040 KRW), while American green grapes and seedless black grapes are sold at 369,000 VND (about 19,700 KRW) and 227,000 VND (about 12,000 KRW) per kg, respectively.

Tony Nguyen, the manager in charge of imports at Tony Fruits, explained, "K-Strawberries are one of our bestsellers. Although locally produced strawberries (from Dalat, Vietnam) cost half the price of K-Strawberries, they have less sweetness and are too sour. In contrast, K-Strawberries have a strong aroma, are sweet with a proper acidity, making them the top strawberry by far."

Strawberries from Joy Farm are displayed at 'Tony Fruits,' an imported fruit specialty store located in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

The K-Strawberries sold at Tony Fruits were exported from Joy Farm, an agricultural corporation in Sancheong, Gyeongnam. They were harvested two days prior and flown to Vietnam.

Joy Farm strawberries are considered the best among the 'premium' K-Strawberries in Southeast Asia. Joy Farm exports strawberries at 26,000 KRW per kg. Converted to 330g, this is about 8,580 KRW, but in Vietnam, they are sold for more than twice that price at 18,583 KRW. Hong Mijin, director of Joy Farm, said, "In Korea, a pack usually contains 500g, but for export to Vietnam, we package them in smaller 330g packs to reduce the price burden on local consumers because K-Strawberries are expensive."

Joy Farm produces eco-friendly Geumsil strawberries and distributes them domestically and for export. Lee Bugwon, CEO of Joy Farm, started strawberry distribution in 2011 by establishing Joy Farm with nearby farmers after working at the agricultural cooperative. Currently, 30 farms are affiliated with Joy Farm.

On the 6th, I visited Joy Farm, an agricultural corporation in Sancheong, Gyeongnam. At the sorting center next to the office, employees are sorting and packaging strawberries.

At the Joy Farm sorting center visited on the 6th, about 50 employees were seated in rows sorting strawberries by size and packaging them separately for export and domestic markets. The packaging displayed "Joy Farm" and "Strawberry" in English, while the representative's name "Bugwon" was written in Hangul. Hong Mijin explained, "When we first exported to Vietnam, we wrote Bugwon in Chinese characters, but the buyer requested to change it to Hangul because Vietnamese people do not like Chinese characters. We immediately corrected it and exported the products." This packaging and labeling tailored to Vietnamese consumer preferences have also won over buyers.

Based on these efforts, Joy Farm produces 10 billion KRW worth of strawberries annually, supplying 6 billion KRW worth to domestic franchise cafes for cakes and exporting 4 billion KRW worth to Vietnam (2 billion KRW), Canada (1 billion KRW), Singapore (500 million KRW), and Thailand (500 million KRW).

Joy Farm strawberries are supplied not only to retail stores like Tony Fruits but also to wholesalers through Vietnamese importers such as Transfruits. At the Transfruits refrigerated warehouse visited on the 11th, K-Strawberries, including those from Joy Farm imported since the end of last month, were stored. David Tran, CEO of Transfruits, said, "We import up to $28,200 (about 36.72 million KRW) worth of Joy Farm strawberries weekly and plan to bring in $564,000 (about 734.16 million KRW) worth by the end of April next year."

Strawberries produced by Joyfarm are stored in the refrigerated warehouse of Transfruits, a fruit import company. Transfruits imports Joyfarm strawberries worth 36.72 million KRW every week from the end of November to April.

Transfruits imports blueberries from New Zealand, apples and cherries from the United States, and cherries from Canada and Australia. CEO Tran described K-Strawberries as an "irreplaceable fruit." He emphasized, "K-Strawberries are large, consistent in size, firm, have excellent aroma and taste, and their red color symbolizes luck in Vietnam. Consumers and retailers praise their quality highly. In fact, there is no competitive fruit available in Vietnam from November to April other than K-Strawberries." Transfruits plans to increase K-Strawberry imports ahead of Christmas and the year-end holidays.

Exports of K-Strawberries, including to Vietnam, are steadily increasing. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) agricultural export information, strawberry export value from January to November this year was $56,067,135, a 22.2% increase compared to the same period last year. Among this, exports to Vietnam accounted for $6,884,487, representing 12.3% of total exports. Jo Seongbae, head of aT Ho Chi Minh office, said, "As income levels rise in Vietnam, demand for premium fruits is increasing, which is driving the sustained popularity of K-Strawberries. aT will also strive to support market-friendly strategies such as small packaging units desired by consumers and labeling methods required by the Vietnamese government."

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