Naju City Plans to Ship 2,137 Tons of 'Naju Bae' Pears for Seol Holiday

Published 01 Feb.2024 15:59(KST)

Naju City in Jeollanam-do is busy sorting and packing its representative specialty product, the ‘Naju Pear,’ ahead of the traditional Korean Lunar New Year holiday.

According to Naju City on the 1st, the volume of pears shipped for this holiday from Naju, the largest pear production area in the country, is expected to be about 2,137 tons.

Yoon Byung-tae, Mayor of Naju, Lee Dong-hee, President of the Naju Pear Orchard Cooperative, and Shin Kyung-hoon, Head of the Naju Branch of Nonghyup, visited the Naju Pear Orchard Cooperative's sorting center ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday to inspect the quality and distribution status of Naju pears and to encourage the efforts of those involved.
[Photo by Naju City]

Due to low-temperature damage during the flowering period last year, production decreased, resulting in this year’s shipment volume dropping by about 42% compared to the previous year’s Lunar New Year holiday.

With the decrease in production, pear prices have also risen. The auction prices for 15kg of 2023 Shin-go pears at wholesale markets in Seoul, Gwangju, and Naju range from 59,000 KRW to as high as 70,000 KRW.

Online shopping malls offer 5kg and 7.5kg packages, while large retail marts provide 6.5kg and 8kg packaged Naju Pear products.

For the ‘Cheonnyeon I-eum Naju Pear,’ a quality-guaranteed pear brand by the Naju City Market, prices including shipping as of February 1st are 48,000 KRW for 5kg and 65,000 KRW for 7.5kg when purchased through the Naju City Cooperative Joint Business Corporation’s online shopping mall.

This top-grade pear brand undergoes a strict selection process including no use of growth regulators, a sugar content of 12 brix or higher, and checks for color and freshness, making it very popular as a holiday gift.

Naju Pears are known for their sweet and rich juice, crisp texture, and health benefits, making them a representative fruit.

They are especially effective for the respiratory system. Heo Jun wrote in the Donguibogam that pears help treat coughs with fever, asthma, and relieve pain in the throat and nose caused by heat.

Various traditional Korean medical texts such as Bonchogangmok also describe benefits including improvement of bronchial disorders, hangover relief, obesity reduction, elimination of carcinogens, prevention of arteriosclerosis and cervical cancer, and skin whitening. Naju Pears are a healthy wellness food with diverse benefits, making them an ideal holiday gift fruit.

The list of local tribute products (土貢物) of Naju-mok recorded in the Sejong Sillok Jiriji in 1454 includes Naju Pears. The Honam Eupji (published in 1871) even introduced Naju Pears as a tribute product presented to the king, highlighting their distinguished history and reputation.

On the 29th of last month, Mayor Yoon Byung-tae visited the pear sorting and packing site at the Budeok Comprehensive Distribution Center of the Naju Pear Horticultural Cooperative to carefully check distribution volumes, market price trends, and quality, while listening to difficulties and encouraging the staff.

Mayor Yoon said, “Despite difficult conditions such as low-temperature damage, I thank the pear farmers and distribution organization officials who are working hard to produce and distribute high-quality Naju Pears. I highly recommend Naju Pears, which are excellent in taste, quality, and health benefits, as gifts for this holiday.”

Meanwhile, to promote exports of Naju Pears, since the launch of the 8th local government administration, overseas promotional events have been held in Dubai, the United States, Vietnam, and other locations, resulting in export MOUs worth 19 million USD to date.

Thanks to these efforts, the export performance of Naju Pears in 2023 reached a total of 5,256 tons, a remarkable 35.6% increase compared to 3,876 tons the previous year.