South Korea: Due to the surge in prices of apples; frozen fruit imports hit record high

Last year, fruit prices soared due to poor harvests, and imports of ‘frozen fruit’ reached an all-time high. According to the ‘Agricultural Outlook 2024’ announced by the Korea Rural Economic Institute on the 18th, frozen fruit imports last year were 64,000 tons, a 6% increase from the previous year (60,000 tons). In the report, the researcher analyzed, “As the price of domestically produced fruits rose significantly last year due to a decrease in supply, demand for relatively inexpensive imported frozen fruits increased.” Domestic fruit prices are rising sharply due to abnormal weather conditions such as scorching heat and heavy rain. Last year, apple prices were about 70% higher than a year ago in November, the harvest season for the Fuji variety. With the introduction of quota tariffs that lower or exempt tariffs on imported fruits to ...