Over 20,000 Tons of Imported Agricultural Products Returned in 5 Years... aT's Quality Verification Lax

Quality Issues: Failure to Meet Standards and Safety Inspections
Direct Threat to Public Health and Domestic Farmers
Moon Geumju: "Low-Quality Agricultural Imports Must Be Completely Blocked"

Moon Geumju, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

It has been revealed that over the past five years, more than 21,000 tons of agricultural products imported by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) were returned just before entering the country, raising concerns about aT's inadequate quality control system. In particular, as more than 4,000 tons of agricultural products are returned annually due to non-compliance with standards and safety issues, there are growing concerns that this could threaten public health and further harm domestic farmers.

According to audit materials submitted by Moon Geumju, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Goheung, Boseong, Jangheung, and Gangjin in South Jeolla Province), to aT on October 16, a total of 52 cases, amounting to 21,000 tons of imported agricultural products, were returned between 2020 and 2024. The reasons for return were identified as failure to meet standards, failure to pass safety inspections due to the detection of pests, diseases, or residual pesticides, and exceeding the arrival deadline.

By year, the quantities returned were 2,460 tons in 2020, 7,372 tons in 2021, 5,363 tons in 2022, 1,548 tons in 2023, and 4,298 tons in 2024, meaning that on average, more than 4,000 tons were sent back to the exporting countries each year. By country, products from India accounted for the highest proportion at 34.6%, followed by Russia (19.0%), Pakistan (18.1%), and Nigeria (8.9%). By product, sesame seeds made up a dominant 62.6% of the total returned volume, followed by soybeans, red beans, soybean sprouts, potatoes, and onions.

For pre-import quality verification, aT dispatches one employee and one external expert to the exporting country to conduct on-site inspections, allowing shipment and import only if the products meet the required standards. Nevertheless, the fact that such large volumes are returned each year demonstrates the inadequacy of aT's preliminary quality verification system. Criticism has arisen that, as there is no dedicated department or full-time management personnel within aT, management remains at the level of occasional field inspections, lacking systematic and continuous oversight.

Moon Geumju stated, "The indiscriminate import of low-quality foreign agricultural products threatens public health and safety and can lead to damage for domestic farmers," emphasizing, "It is essential to establish a thorough quality verification system to protect public health rights and minimize harm to farmers."

Moon Geumju also said, "Rather than simply relying on post-return penalties, it is urgent to shift policies to manage safety and quality from the production stage in the exporting country to reduce unnecessary returns," adding, "It is necessary to develop sophisticated inspection plans for each country and to ensure strict management and supervision to fundamentally block the import of low-quality foreign agricultural products."

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