The USDA Korean apple report highlights apple market dynamics in Korea. Although production area has been growing in recent years, harvest yields fluctuate due to weather patterns. The report also found that domestic consumption is highly correlated to production.
In Marketing Year (MY) 2017/18, apple production and consumption are both expected to decrease slightly, with apple production expected to be around 560,000 metric tons (MT).
Meanwhile, consumption is expected to decrease to 10.9 Kg per capita in MY 2017/18 from 11.2 Kg per capita in MY 2016/017. Korean international trade in apples is very small, with only one-percent of production exported each year. There are currently no approved countries for importing apples into Korea.
Production
In Marketing Year (MY) 2017/18 (July-June), Korea’s fresh apple production is expected to decrease by 2.8 percent to 560,000 metric tons (MT) from 576,369 MT in MY 2016/2017, mainly due to the effect of hail damage in the main apple production area in Gyeongsangbuk-do during the fruit growing period in early June.
Despite a slight increase (0.9 percent) in farming area in MY 2017/18 from the previous season, the yield (production per 0.1 Hectare) is expected to decrease slightly due to hail damage and a reduced number of fruits per tree expected this season.
Exports
As apples can be sold in the local market at a more profitable price than when they are exported, not many apple farmers are interested in the export market. Annual fresh apple exports account for about one percent of total production.
In calendar year 2016, Korea exported about 4,000 MT of fresh apples. Taiwan is the biggest export market for Korean fresh apples with a 60 percent share (2,389 MT); followed by Singapore and Hong Kong with ten percent and 11.6 percent shares, respectively. Korean apple exports to Taiwan peaked in 2010 around 7,300 MT, but dropped to 2,000 MT in 2011 due to the detection of higher level of chemical residue levels during import inspections. As a result of high residue level findings, the Taiwanese quarantine authority temporarily increased its spot inspection rate by 20 percent beginning in 2011, but returned to the normal rate in 2015.
Imports
Korea annually imports about 10,000 MT of processed apple products such as apple juice and dried apples. However, no fresh apples are allowed to be imported into Korea due to an existing quarantine. To import fresh fruits into Korea, a product must first pass through the eight stages of the Import Risk Analysis (IRA) process as defined by Korean quarantine authorities. For fresh apple imports, the United States and Japan are on the fifth stage of the IRA; New Zealand is on stage three, and China and Italy are on stage one.
Source: gain.fas.usda.gov
