According to trade statistics released by the South Korean Customs Agency on April 16th, the import volume of pineapples and mangoes in South Korea reached a historic high last month, while the import volume of bananas and oranges also reached the highest level in several years. The import volume of pineapple increased by 44.7% year-on-year, reaching 8686 tons, and the import amount increased by 55.3%, reaching 8.678 million US dollars, both of which are historical highs. The import volume and import value of mangoes increased by 114% and 110.5% year-on-year, respectively, reaching 6264 tons and 24.742 million US dollars, also reaching historical highs.

In addition, the import volume of bananas increased by 27.7% year-on-year, reaching 384.04 million tons, the highest level in 4 years and 10 months; The import value is 38.134 million US dollars, the highest in 5 years and 9 months. The import volume and import value of oranges increased by 1.7% and 8.5% year-on-year, respectively, reaching 380.28 million tons and 83.888 million US dollars, the highest value in three years.

One of the reasons for the significant increase in fruit imports is to diversify the demand for apples and pears with rising prices. The government will concentrate on supplying imported fruits such as bananas from March to April to replace expensive apples and pears. South Korea has recently entered the era of “golden apples”, with local apple prices ranking among the top globally. This may be due to the sharp decrease in production caused by recent climate anomalies, leading to price increases.

With the expansion of import scale, the price of imported fruits has also begun to show a downward trend. At present, the retail price of pineapple is 6561 Korean won, a month on month decrease of 9.9% and a year-on-year decrease of 7.7%; The retail price of 100 grams of bananas is 269 Korean won, a decrease of 17.5% month on month and 18.7% year-on-year; The retail price of 10 navel oranges produced in the United States was 15000 Korean won, a decrease of 10.1% month on month and 5.9% year-on-year; The retail price of a single mango is 3658 Korean won, a slight increase of 1.9% month on month, but a year-on-year decrease of 32.9%.

With the diversification of fruit demand, apple prices have shown a downward trend recently. The retail price of 10 Fuji apples was 2501700 Korean won, a decrease of 7.8% compared to the previous month, but an increase of 9.9% year-on-year; The retail price of 10 new high pears is 471100 Korean won, an increase of 10% month on month and a significant increase of 73.1% year-on-year. Last month, the export volume of apples and pears was 30 tons and 99 tons respectively, a significant decrease of 71.8% and 95.5% compared to the same period last year.

Source: International Fruit and Vegetable Report （https://m.guojiguoshu.com/）