The change in trend started about five years ago and South Korean growers have been switching to these varieties over the last two years. Due to its sweeter taste, the Shine Muscat is the more expensive of the two. The season for both varieties starts around the end of September and lasts until the beginning of December.
“The results of the varietal change have been great,” says Lee. “We were already familiar with these types of grapes, as they were imported from Japan. However, our prices are better. Japanese produce is quite expensive in South Korea. South Korean consumers are more accepting of local produce, which also has a better quality than Chinese grapes.”
The export markets for grapes are Taiwan, China, Vietnam and New Zealand. However, she is sceptical of the Chinese market. “I really don’t think that the Chinese market is working for us. There is too much produce incorrectly being labelled as South-Korean produce. Because of this, we’re only able to send small volumes to China. The South East Asian market is a lot stronger, though the volumes for New Zealand are limited as well.”
The main competitors for Korean grapes are Japan and China, with China producing massive volumes of Kyoho grapes. Even though South Korea has a lot of domestic consumption of grapes, the government is stimulating grape exports in order to offset the import of grapes during the off-season.
“The South Korean grape sector is really quite vulnerable right now. Our old varieties are generating less sales in the world market. The government is protecting the domestic grape market by levying higher tariffs on imports when the South Korean season is full swing. But people don’t want to eat Korean grapes. In order to gain a larger share in the market, growers are holding trials with new grape varieties,” says Lee.
NH Trading
Kim Young-Ju of NH Trading says his company still mainly works with Campbell grapes. “Korean consumers usually like Campbell grapes, so our customers abroad are usually South Korean expats in the US and some Chinese expats as well. Our season starts in August and lasts until November.”
Like Lee, Kim Young-Ju does acknowledge that consumers in South East Asia in general dislike the acidic taste of Campbell grapes. His company exports the Kyoho variety to these markets instead. The company in China has just been put back on track, as the quarantine measures against South Korean grapes were relaxed two years ago.
The company shipped 200 tons in 2016, which was a relatively low volume. The season was marred by quality issues due to the hot weather. “We usually export around 400 tons each year and get an increase of 15% per annum,” says Kim.
For NH Trading, the growing season runs from the end of April through to August for greenhouse production, while open field cultivation last from the end of August until December. Like Rima Global, NH Trading is currently in its off season, which makes it uncertain what prices Korean grapes would currently fetch on the market. Kim reckons the average price for outdoor grown grapes would be around USD$3 per kg at the wholesale level.
“Grapes are representative of summer fruits. People consume grapes in the summer. However, in the off season cheap, sweet seedless grapes are being imported every day. Luckily, the government protects our market and provides financial support for farmers who want to close their orchards or who want to change crop,” says Kim Young-ju.
For more information:
Nami Lee
Rima Global
Tel: 0082-62-610-5077
Email: rimaglobal@rimaglobal.com
www.rimaglobal.com
Kim Young-ju
NH Trading
Tel 0082-2-2225-2384
Email story@nhtra.co.kr
story@nhtra.co.kr