This photo provided by the Rural Development Administration shows a controlled atmosphere (CA) container.
SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The Rural Development Administration (RDA) under the agriculture ministry said Wednesday it had developed new technology to ensure cost-effective transport of agricultural products while maintaining their freshness.
The RDA developed a controlled atmosphere (CA) container that enables the adjustment of temperature, humidity, and the density of oxygen and carbon dioxide for agricultural products being exported.
The RDA demonstrated the quality that can be maintained if the nation’s eight major export items, including strawberries, oriental melons and pears are transported via CA containers.
The demonstration showed that the decay rate of strawberries stood at 40 percent 10 days after being transported via CA containers, much lower than 90 percent when they are transported via general containers.
CA containers also contributed to reducing the browning of oriental melons, with their decay rate being more than halved compared to using general containers.
For Wonhwang Asian pears, CA containers maintained their quality during three weeks of transport to North America and one week of distribution there, while preventing the browning of the pears.
The RDA noted that transporting agricultural products via ships loaded with CA containers could reduce costs by about 30 percent on average compared to air transport.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
