Mary Queen - A new Queen of the premium strawberry market

A new variety of strawberries, larger, firmer and much easier to store than other strawberry varieties, has been harvested in Damyang, South Korea and is gaining presence in the market. These exceptionally large and sweet strawberries, called Mary Queen, are expected to bring a new source of income for strawberry farmers and widen the path to export markets. It is a unique cultivar developed by Damyang County with 10 years of R&D support and it is now gaining popularity among Korean farmers due to its firmness. This helps to maintain its quality during harvest.

Mary Queen was developed to overcome the weakness of Seolhyang, a strawberry variety that occupies more than 90% of the South Korean strawberry market. As Seolhyang strawberries soften up after March, there were continuous claims from farmers and consumers who wanted a firmer variety. Also, the fast expansion of the premium fruit market in Hong Kong and Singapore, where most of the South Korean strawberries are exported, assured the market demand for this new variety would be high.

According to NH Trading, the total production volume of Mary Queen in 2019 is around 540 metric tons with 30 hectares of devoted farming area in Damyang county. Around 10 kg of strawberries are produced from 1 square meter. Their Brix level is 20% higher than ‘Seolhyang’ and the strawberries are 30~40% firmer than other strawberry varieties. Mary Queen’s market price was positioned as the highest among all cultivars - 20,041 KRW per kg in the harvest season last year, which is 20~30% higher than the price for Seolhyang. However, the price is expected to go down as the production volume increases and supply stabilizes.

Buyers from Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Vietnam have shown great interest in Mary Queen this year. From tasting evaluations in various trade exhibitions in 2019, Mary Queen received excellent feedback for its shape and taste. Damyang County has been selling its other strawberry varieties to major Asian countries including China, Japan, Vietnam, and also to the European region including the Netherlands, where 59 farms in the region are actively involved in exporting. The county is expecting this new variety will open up their new sales channels.