Plentiful blueberry harvest in North Korea yields big profits
A source from Yangkang Province reported to Daily NK on September 3rd, “State-run enterprises are a given, but even groups like the Chosun Union of Democratic Women are being mobilized to pick blueberries,” going on to explain that news of the plentiful harvest spread late, so turning to these groups to gather the crop was a quick solution. Extensive fields to grow the berries were developed in the early 1990s in the Baegam and Samjiyeon Counties of Yangang Province; residents and students in those areas, as well as Hyesan, have also been called on to contribute to the collection effort.
Although blueberries are considered very precious in North Korea, they were not a main source for earning foreign capital until recently. Residents normally enjoy the fruit straight off the bush, or crushing and adding sugar for consumption as a sweet beverage. The taste and quality of the fruit are far superior than that of grapes available in the North, so they are often employed as a fermented drink akin to wine, distilled blueberry liquor, jam, and juice.
According to the source, those called to duty are required to gather 10kg of the berries per day, for duration of 10 days, after which they turn the total into to provincial foreign-currency earning enterprises. If residents find themselves with any of the fruit leftover after submission, they maintain the right to sell them in the market, or take them home for personal consumption. Particularly diligent individuals have been gathering up to 20kg a day for the 10-day period, twice their required allotment, to reap market sale profits of up to 500-600 RMB for their efforts.
The harvested berries are sent for processing in plants in Hyesan, Baekam, and Samjiyeon, with additional facilities in other areas of Yangang Province, where the concentrated juice is produced for export to China. The concentrate is obtained by pressing then filtering the fresh fruit, followed by evaporating the excess water to form the final concentrated product. Last year the processing and packaging of the fruit for export took place in Hyesan, a major city in Yangkang Province and the nearest hub to Samjiyeon, the official hometown of Kim Jong Il.
Last year a kilo of the berries fetched up to 35-40 RMB [$5.50-$6 USD], but this year has seen prices rise to 60 RMB, thanks to a plentiful crop and increasing demand for the fruit. Merchants have swarmed to gather and quickly turn a profit on the blueberries, for which the purchase price this year has almost doubled and are selling as soon as it hits the markets.
Some traders are pooling their resources to yield better results, “The amount of fruit we can collect individually is small, but if we combine efforts we can make a lot more,” many say, noting, “We don’t know where all the money we hand over to those foreign currency earning companies goes.”
“Since after fulfilling our allotment we can keep the rest for personal profit, most are absorbed in reaping as much as they can while it lasts,” he concluded.
Source: dailynk.com
