"Apple Imports" Are Not a Negotiation Card

The government's potential consideration of importing US apples through trade negotiations has been revealed through media reports. It has been reported that Yeo Han-gu, head of the Trade Negotiation Bureau at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, recently instructed the agricultural inspection authorities at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to proactively review the import of US apples. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is currently only providing a principled response, stating that they "cannot confirm the specific details of the negotiations." Immediately, producer organizations such as the Fruit Cooperative Union and Apple Cooperative Association have begun to protest in unison. Apples are the most produced fruit among domestic fruits and a "national fruit," and importing them would not only threaten the survival rights of approximately 70,000 cultivation farms but also cause a contraction in the entire apple-related industry, ...