Chungju City Council: "US Apples Should Be Excluded from Trade Negotiations"

(Chungju=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Hyung-woo = The Chungju City Council in North Chungcheong Province urged the government on the 17th to exclude strategic agricultural products such as apples from trade negotiations with the United States.

The city council adopted a resolution containing this content at the second plenary session of its 296th temporary meeting.

In the resolution, the council stated, "Chungju is a top-level apple production area nationwide, with a total cultivation area of 1,025 hectares, 1,893 farming households, and production volume of approximately 20,000 tons," adding that "currently, the region is suffering severe damage from fire blight."

It further noted, "If apple imports from the United States are fully realized through trade negotiations under these circumstances, local fruit farmers will face an irreversible collapse, which will cause a chain of negative effects on the region's agriculture overall."

The council emphasized, "We solemnly urge that strategic agricultural products, including apples, be excluded from any trade negotiations."

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