Korea Baeyoung Agricultural Cooperative Association, Ilso Damage Non-Products and ‘Export Sales’

Due to the record-breaking heat wave and heavy rain that continued until mid-September this year, most pear farmers in Jinju, Gyeonggi Province, Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, and Asan, Chungcheongnam Province are experiencing great difficulties. The hot sun caused the skin of the pear to discolor and the flesh to turn brown, which is called ‘sunburn damage.’ In particular, due to the nature of pear cultivation, which involves covering the pear with a bag, the severity of sunburn damage was revealed during the process of sorting the pear after harvesting and storing it for market shipment, which caused even greater shock to pear farmers. Even if the pear looks good when inspected with the naked eye, the flesh can deteriorate after being stored and shipped to the market, so many farmers are unable to handle non-commodity pears. In response, Kim Geon-soo, the representative of Korea Pear Farming Corporation, a fresh agricultural product export organization in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam ...