Gokseong Cherry, Full-Scale Shipment Begins

Published 31 May.2024 10:49(KST)

Various Support Attempts for Quality Improvement

Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that it began cherry harvesting on the 29th and started joint sorting and shipment through Gokseong Nonghyup APC.

Having nurtured a cherry-specialized complex since 2016, Gokseong-gun is now in its ninth year, and as the initially planted orchards have reached maturity, the shipment volume has been increasing annually.

[Photo by Gokseong-gun]

As of the end of last year, cherry cultivation covers 92 farms and 35 hectares, with plans to expand to 50 hectares by 2026.

To this end, a joint shipment system is being established through product uniformity and scaling up.

For stable production by farmers, the county developed three types of low-cost cherry-specific simple rain shelters in 2020 and has been distributing these facilities to orchards during the harvest season to reduce cracking damage. Additionally, porous films are applied to the ground around harvest time to increase coloration rates, among various other quality improvement efforts.

Furthermore, through continuous enhancement of farmers' capabilities and quality improvement, standards such as a sugar content of 17 Brix or higher, coloration of 70% or more, and a three-level size sorting criterion have been set to gain an advantage over imported cherries.

As a result, the cherries have been recognized as high-quality products by large supermarket officials and Garak Market brokers.

Alongside this, the Gokseong cherry brand "Mame Ssok" and packaging designs for joint sorting have been developed to achieve packaging uniformity and brand establishment for Gokseong cherries.

A county official stated, “We are providing continuous support and technical guidance for the success of cherry cultivation, and through this, cherries are becoming a regional income fruit tree. We will continue to strive to make cherries a major source of income through ongoing support.”

Meanwhile, due to cold damage occurring in April and May this year, cherry shipment volume is expected to decrease to about 5.5 tons, less than anticipated. In response, the county plans to strengthen the distribution of mitigation facilities and technical support to reduce cold damage in the future.