JEJU, Nov. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – The Jeju Provincial Government announced Tuesday that it will begin operation of an electronic auction platform for the island’s symbolic fruit, tangerines. In a joint collaboration with Jejusi Nonghyup (a local agricultural cooperative), the system will launch on November 22, offering for sale tangerines with a minimum of 10 [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – Rising international coffee prices this year could hit South Korea soon, industry officials said Tuesday, although major franchises and coffee companies say they have no immediate plans for a markup. The International Coffee Organization (ICO) in its October report noted the significant rise in coffee prices, with Robusta, used [...]
MUAN, South Korea, Nov. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – Rice consumption in Korea is at all-time low, mainly driven by changing appetite, with the annual per-capita rice consumption dropping from 128.1kg in 1985 to 62.9kg in 2015. In a struggle against declining consumption, “functional rice” breeds are being introduced, highlighting features like weight loss, diabetes prevention, [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea has become the first Asian country to successfully farm salmon, the world’s most consumed fish. According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, some 500 tons of salmon from a Goseong County (Gangwon Province) fish farm will start to ship out on Tuesday for the first time. [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean government said Wednesday that it will dispose of up to 240,000 tons of rice in government stockpiles, a move partly aimed at keeping prices up. The amount compares with 100,000 tons disposed at the start of this year. The rice to be disposed was produced in [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – Vietnam has become the largest importer of Korean ginseng in Southeast Asia, a market that China is aggressively chasing to erode Korea’s lead, a trade group said Tuesday. According to the Ho Chi Minh office of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), South Korea exported 1,362 tons of ginseng [...]
DAEJEON, Oct. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – According to the Korea Intellectual Property Office, a total of 340 patent applications related to agricultural technology that improves a crop’s resistibility to environmental stress have been submitted since 2005. Since 2010, at least 30 patents were filed each year, 87 percent of which were by domestic applicants. KIPO [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – Despite the high season, flower sales in South Korea have tumbled more than 20 percent in October from a year ago, data showed Wednesday, apparently due to the implementation of a draconian anti-corruption law. According to the data by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., flower transactions came [...]
YEONGDONG, South Korea, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – Yeongdong County in North Chungcheong Province is often recognized by its trademark produce, persimmons. There are roughly 16,000 persimmon trees lining some 145 kilometers of the county’s roads, trees that are now bearing fruits ready for harvest. The trees started appearing in the region in the 1970s, [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s market for packaged kimchi has been growing sharply in recent months as more consumers resort to them due to sky-high prices of napa cabbage, the pickled side dish’s key ingredient, a market tracker said Thursday. The market for packaged kimchi rose 13.5 percent in July from a [...]