2024-07-29 19:19:59
Recently, an emergency has been declared for fruit supply due to abnormal weather conditions such as sudden heavy rains, also known as the ‘Goblin Monsoon’, and ‘super tropical nights’ where the lowest temperature does not fall below 30 degrees Celsius.
According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), the retail price of watermelon, a representative summer fruit, increased by 25.21% from the previous month to 26,071 won (based on graded products) on the 29th. It is 23.34% higher than the annual average of 21,137 won.
As fruit prices rise, the quality of fruits is also declining due to abnormal weather conditions. As it becomes difficult to guarantee quality even if you pay a high price, fruit consumption trends are also diversifying. According to the fruit consumption trends announced by the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, from 2020 to 2022, exotic and premium fruits, exotic varieties of fruits, apple mango bingsu, and ugly fruits are receiving attention one after another, showing a diversifying trend in consumption trends.
As a representative example, New Zealand premium kiwi brand Zespri is leading the domestic premium fruit market. Zespri provides kiwi with consistent taste and quality through a thorough quality management system. The entire process from cultivation to distribution and marketing has been systematized, and only the first-grade products are shipped as ‘Zespri Sun Gold Kiwi’ through a strict selection process.
Especially this year, with the New Zealand harvest boom and the government’s tariff reduction policy, it seems to be chosen by Korean consumers for its reasonable price compared to its quality. In fact, during a CJ OnStyle TV live broadcast in May, ‘Zespri Sun Gold Kiwi’ sold over 3,000 sets, selling out the entire product. Considering that there are about 28 kiwis in one set, this means that over 80,000 were sold in one hour.
Accordingly, Jespri’s sales in the Korean market are also recording double-digit growth every year. Sales in 2022 are expected to be approximately KRW 220 billion, up 20% year-on-year.
The jelly-like, heart-shaped plum ‘Jelly Heart’ is also a variety that was created to reflect the fruit consumption trend. Plums are easy to eat because you don’t have to peel them, but they are sour and the flesh easily becomes soft, so there are mixed opinions.
Accordingly, the Rural Development Administration developed Jelly Heart, which has less sourness but the flesh does not easily become soft. It has a sugar content of 16.4 Brix and an acidity (sourness) of 0.49%, which makes it sweeter but less sour. It also has the advantage of the flesh not easily becoming soft, so it is expected to be advantageous in production and distribution.
Large marts are betting again on watermelons, which are expected to be in short supply due to flood damage and other factors. First, Lotte Mart has focused on ‘customer convenience’ and launched the ‘Seedless Green Watermelon’, which has no seeds and a thin skin. This is a new variety introduced to address customer dissatisfaction cases caused by having too many seeds or thick skin.
Homeplus focused on ‘sweetness’. They branded the fruit with the highest sweetness as ‘premium honeydew’ and among them, they introduced ‘black rice watermelon’ which has a sweetness of about 14% higher than regular watermelon. Watermelons carefully selected through a non-destructive sweetness sorter are gaining great popularity among consumers, growing eight-fold compared to the previous year.
Reporter Yoon Woo-yeol, Donga.com, [email protected]
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2024-07-29 19:19:59