South Korea is an interesting destination in Asia for the country's fruit export sector. In fact, so far in the current 2024-25 export season, Chile has shipped more than 17 thousand tons of fresh fruit to the Korean market, a figure that is 56.90% higher than shipments at the same time last year (2023-24).
Opportunities for Chilean fruits in South Korea
Miguel Canala-Echeverría, general manager of Frutas de Chile commented: "As of January, Korea is the second largest destination in Asia for our fruit, and the ninth largest globally. It is an interesting market not only because of the number of potential consumers, who exceed 51 million, but also because they have a per capita fruit consumption of 55 kilograms. Moreover, almost 100% of the Korean population consumes fruits and vegetables daily, with apples, strawberries, citrus fruits, cherries, grapes and kiwis being their favorite fruits, which opens up a great opportunity for us to supply this market in the off-season.
Another relevant matter in which we have been working with the Subrei and our Embassy in Seoul, is related to the updating of the FTA, with the aim of equalizing the tariffs that affect our oranges and table grapes, compared to other countries that have signed agreements with Korea after Chile, a situation where it has been very complex to achieve concrete progress.
The professional added that Chile currently sends table grapes, lemons, blueberries, cherries, avocados, oranges and kiwis to the Korean market, "so we are looking to expand our supply in this country, prioritizing fresh plums".
Korea: A demanding market, but a high fruit consumption market
South Korea is the 12th largest economy in the world in terms of GDP and the 29th in terms of population. Being an interesting destination for Chilean fresh fruits, because although fruit consumption in South Korea has decreased almost 20% in the last 15 years, due to the shortage of supply and rising prices, it is still a major consumer of these products compared to other countries in the world. In addition, by producing in the off-season, Chilean fruits do not compete with local fruits, but complement them, especially as far as temperate climate fruit is concerned.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of South Korea in 2022, per capita fruit consumption reached 55 kilograms. Mandarins and apples led per capita consumption with 11.8 kilograms and 11.0 kilograms, respectively, followed by pears (4.4 kilograms), grapes (4.4 kilograms), peaches (3.7 kilograms) and persimmons (1.9 kilograms).
Another characteristic of South Korea is the conformation of its population, since 70% of it is under 40 years of age, who go abroad to study, adopting more Western fashions and consumption. Within Asia, Korea is one of the most demanding consumers in terms of quality.
Read the original article on the Frutas de Chile website here.
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