Growing eel imports heighten a sense of crisis in South Korea's farming industry
Frozen Whole Eel
Seafood
South Korea
Published May 30, 2023
Original content
The recent surge in eel imports is heightening the sense of crisis in the domestic farming industry. According to the Freshwater Eel Producers Association (Chairman Shin Young-rae), the number of freshwater eels (hereafter referred to as eels) imported from overseas such as China this year has reached three times the average for the past five years. A total of 1,729 tons of live eels were imported from January to the end of May this year, accounting for 24.5% of the domestic production of 4,347 tons. Until 2019, 300 tons were imported until May, but it started to increase from 2020, recording 1005 tons in 2021, and a significant increase to 2786 tons last year. The association predicts that this year's import volume will exceed 7,200 tons given the influx of imports. Due to this increase in eel imports, the domestic eel farming industry is facing a serious business deterioration as prices drop and even shipments are stopped. Domestic farm prices are maintained at 28,000 to 30,000 ...
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