Expanding Contract Apple Cultivation Volume Threefold by 2030... Increasing Disaster Prevention Facility Coverage to 30%

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' Measures to Enhance Fruit and Livestock Industry Competitiveness
Strengthening Growth Management for 2024 Crops and Pilot Production of 10,000 Tons of Small Fruits
Long-term Plans to Increase Productivity and Shorten Distribution Stages

The government has decided to more than triple the volume of contract apple cultivation for supply stabilization by 2030 and significantly expand preventive facilities against cold damage, typhoons, and heatwaves to prevent the recurrence of 'golden apples.' To immediately prevent price instability for the 2024 apple crop, it plans to pilot-produce and supply 10,000 tons of 'small and medium-sized apples' for everyday consumption along with proactive growth management.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced the 'Fruit Industry Competitiveness Enhancement Measures (2024?2030)' containing these details at the Price-Related Ministers' Meeting held on the 2nd.

Since February this year, the Ministry has held 12 sessions of the Fruit Industry Development Forum and producer meetings to discuss various issues with producers, consumers, and experts. Since January, an internal reform task force has been formed to review and establish these measures.

Park Su-jin, Director of the Food Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, is giving a pre-briefing to reporters on the 1st ahead of the announcement of the 'Measures to Enhance the Competitiveness of the Fruit Industry.'

Park Su-jin, Director of the Food Policy Bureau at the Ministry, explained, "Although the fruit industry has improved its quality competitiveness, its price competitiveness remains low compared to major producing countries. As shown by the decrease in major fruit production due to last year's disasters, the response to disasters and climate change is insufficient. The complex distribution stages cause price volatility when supply and demand are unstable, and cultivation practices focused on size and appearance continue. Through these measures, we aim to shift the fruit industry policy paradigm to 'strengthening climate change response' and 'meeting consumer needs.'"

Special Cold Damage Management and Pilot Production of Small and Medium-Sized Apples

Last year, simultaneous disasters and pest damage such as spring cold damage, summer heavy rains, and anthracnose reduced major fruit production by about 30%. In particular, apple production sharply declined from 516,000 tons in 2021 and 566,000 tons in 2022 to 394,000 tons last year. As a result, the consumer price for 10 Fuji apples rose sharply by 31.5% to an average of 31,068 KRW in October last year compared to 23,618 KRW in the same month the previous year. Although government discount support significantly lowered the average consumer price to 27,003 KRW in March this year, it remains 18.2% higher than in March last year.

With strong public concern that supply instability like last year may recur, the Ministry is promoting the '2024 Apple Safety Project' to stably produce apples, which have the largest consumption share.

Earlier, since January, the government formed a growth management consultative body to proactively prevent and manage risk factors by period in cooperation with local governments and producer organizations in major production areas. This included the distribution and timely application (March?April) of cold damage preventive agents, 100% removal of fire blight ulcers (February), and early installation of disaster prevention facilities (March). Additionally, cold damage will be specially managed in April, followed by management of seasonal risk factors such as drought and anthracnose.

Moreover, the contract cultivation volume for apples, which was about 49,000 tons last year, will be expanded to 60,000 tons this year and used for supply management during peak holiday seasons (30,000 tons) and regular periods (30,000 tons). In case of supply instability concerns, some contract volumes will be stored at key Agricultural Product Distribution Centers (APCs), with management of shipping timing, destinations, and usage. To expand supply for everyday consumption, a pilot production of 10,000 tons of small and medium-sized apples will also be promoted.

Significant Expansion of Disaster Prevention Facilities and Contract Cultivation Volume by 2030

Along with the short-term '2024 Apple Safety Project,' the Ministry presented a mid- to long-term response strategy through 2030. It will pursue four core strategies: ▲strengthening disaster and supply-demand response capabilities ▲securing production bases and improving productivity ▲streamlining distribution structures ▲diversifying consumer choices to minimize impacts such as changes in cultivation areas and increased disaster damage due to climate change.

First, to enhance disaster and supply-demand response capabilities, the distribution rate of disaster prevention facilities will be raised to 30% by 2030. Cold damage prevention facilities such as micro-sprinklers, wind fans, and rain shelters were distributed on only 1.1% of the total cultivation area as of last year. The distribution rates of typhoon prevention facilities like windbreak nets and heatwave prevention facilities such as irrigation and fertilization systems are only 12.2% and 15.7%, respectively.

The Ministry will prioritize distributing the three major disaster prevention facilities to 20 high-risk areas with large damage and frequent occurrences. Among these are nine locations including Cheongsong and Andong, which are among the top 10 apple production areas. A Ministry official said, "The top 20 high-risk areas account for about 65% of apple cultivation and 55% of pear cultivation by area. We plan to increase the distribution rate to 30% by 2030 and continue expanding further afterward."

Along with expanding contract cultivation, management methods will also be improved. The contract cultivation volume for apples will be tripled to 150,000 tons by 2030 compared to last year. For pears, it will increase from 42,000 tons last year to 45,000 tons this year and 60,000 tons by 2030. The goal is to contractually cultivate 30% of total production for both apples and pears to stably manage supply not only during holidays but also in regular periods. For apples, the Ministry will consider introducing a designated shipment system that manages not only shipping timing but also storage facilities, shipping destinations, and usage.

'30% Labor Reduction, Up to 4 Times Productivity Increase' Smart Orchard Specialized Complexes

As part of securing production bases and improving productivity, the Ministry will establish 'Smart Orchard Specialized Complexes' that introduce disaster prevention facilities and shared agricultural machinery as essential facilities. These complexes, about 20 hectares (200,000 square meters) each, will be developed mainly in future cultivation areas such as Gangwon and mountainous regions, with five sites (totaling 100 hectares) planned for next year and 60 sites (1,200 hectares) by 2030. The Ministry expects that mechanization of pruning, flower thinning, and weeding will reduce labor by 30% and increase productivity up to fourfold in smart orchards.

Strategically nurturing new production areas such as Gangwon, the Ministry plans to double the area of the five major Gangwon production areas?Jeongseon, Yanggu, Hongcheon, Yeongwol, and Pyeongchang?by 2030. It will also strengthen research and development (R&D) for production stability, including developing and distributing disaster-resistant new varieties and cost-reducing disaster response technologies.

Reducing Distribution Costs by Increasing Direct Transactions and Expanding New Variety Markets

The Ministry will also promote streamlining the fruit industry's distribution structure. For apples, offline wholesale markets account for 60.5%, higher than the overall fruit industry average of about 50%. Accordingly, the Ministry plans to increase the online wholesale market's distribution share to 15% from its launch last November and reduce the offline wholesale market share to 30%. It expects distribution cost rates to decrease from 62.6% to 56%. To expand direct transactions, it will promote organizing multiple trading entities in production and consumption areas and consider incentives such as delivery price support for participating entities.

This year, 24 new key APCs will be constructed, and facilities for sorting and shipping will be expanded to increase the share of apples handled from 14% in 2022 to 30% by 2030. Contract cultivation volumes will be distributed through key APCs to expand handling volumes.

To diversify consumer choices through expanding new varieties and small and medium-sized apple markets, the Ministry will strengthen on-site technical guidance, intensive promotion, and marketing for various new varieties such as yellow apples and green pears. Reflecting consumption trends, cultivation of small apples will be expanded to 5% of the total area. Size standards focused on ritual use will be relaxed, and quality-related labeling such as sugar content, which attracts consumer interest, will be strengthened.

Minister Song Mi-ryeong of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said, "Climate change is not a distant future issue but a reality we face now. We will steadily implement growth management this year and transition to a mid- to long-term production system, improve distribution structures, and reflect consumption trends to enhance the competitiveness of domestic fruits so that all citizens can enjoy domestic fruits without burden."

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