Cherries have become South Korea’s most imported fruit in terms of value thanks to an FTA with the US and a good crop there leading to lower prices.
According to a report in Korean newspaper the Donga Ilbo, cherries now account for 36.6 per cent of the value of imported fruit nudging passed bananas at 34.3 per cent. Kiwifruit accounts for 17.3 per cent of imports.
For the year ending June cherry sales have increased by 192.5 per cent. As a result cherries are now the third-highest selling fruit after melons and watermelons, moving up from eighth position last year, the newspaper reported.
An FTA signed with the US earlier this year has seen the import tariff on cherries abolished, which had been set at 24 per cent. This has combined with a good crop in the US to see prices fall this year.
According to the Seoul Agricultural and Marine Products Corp a box (5kg) of top-quality cherries was typically selling wholesale for around US$56 over the weekend - 30.8 per cent less than last year when prices were around US$81.
