Korean table grapes enter the U.S. market for first time in Los Angeles
Korean table grapes enter the U.S. market for first time in Los Angeles
For the first time ever, fresh table grapes grown in South Korea have apparently entered the U.S. marketplace.
On Friday, Aug. 19, the Korean Agriculture & Fisheries Ministry announced that 330 kilograms of the Campbell Early grape variety, produced in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, passed quarantine inspection earlier in the week and were shipped via air to Los Angeles. The JoongAng Daily Korean newspaper reported that the grapes arrived at the Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday, Aug. 18.
The 330-kilogram shipment (727.5 pounds) would have only represented two or three dozen U.S.-sized containers, so not surprisingly, there was no sign of the grapes in Los Angeles. Representatives of neither Valley Fruit & Produce Co. nor Giumarra Bros., both located on the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market, had seen the grapes or were aware of their existence.
Kathleen Nave of the California Table Grape Commission said that the commission had been notified by the USDA's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service that South Korean grapes following specific protocols were now able to be shipped to the United States, but she had no independent knowledge that shipments had begun.
Cecilia Chung with M.G. Produce in Los Angeles, a self-identified importer of Korean produce, said that she was aware that some Korean grapes were headed for the United States by sea, but she did not know about the air shipment. She speculated that the first shipment via air was hothouse grapes, which she indicated were not her specialty. "Too expensive," she quipped. We only bring in outside grapes, referring to grapes grown outdoors.
Ms. Chung said that it takes 17 days to ship grapes via the ocean to the United States, so she was waiting to see how the first shipment arrived before importing any on her own. I want to see if they are fresh, she said. I dont want to be first; Ill be second.
The Korean importer said that the grape season in South Korea will last for several months, allowing for shipments into January. She indicated that these late-August shipments represent the very beginning of the season.
According to a press release from the Korean Agriculture Ministry, an additional 748 tons of grapes will be exported this year from Hwaseong and Youngcheon, North Gyeongsang Province. That would represent about 75,000 20-pound carton equivalents. Ms. Nave confirmed the reports from the South Korean sources that these initial shipments are the result of 10 years of efforts by the Koreans to crack the U.S. market. The CTGC president said that the commission has not been intimately involved in the effort, instead leaving the job of protecting U.S. agriculture to the USDA. We leave the science to APHIS, she said. Of course we would prefer not to have competition in our market at a time when we really dont need it, but we do understand that other countries are trying to gain access to the U.S. market.
Ms. Nave appeared to understand that it is a world market place and access will be granted to the U.S. market unless there is a compelling reason to deny it. In the case of South Korean grapes, both governments have been debating the impact of diseases and insects for years. USDAs APHIS, according to the Korean press release, opened the market last November only for grapes from farms that were zoned beforehand and the grapes destined for export were grown covered with bags. In response, the Agriculture Ministry designated Hwaseong and Yeongcheon in North Gyeongsang province as the zones for exports to the United States.
Carolyn Pizzo, operations support officer for the California Plant Health Directors Office of the USDAs APHIS, said that the actual opening date of the U.S. market to Korean grapes came on Dec. 10, 2004, with the publication of the 12th periodic amendment. At the same time, she said that the U.S. market was opened for other Korean fresh products including cucurbits, watermelon, cucumbers and oriental melons.
Ms. Nave said that the protocol is very restrictive and will accordingly limit the volume from Korea. How many growers will take those steps? she asked rhetorically. That [protocol] is going to make the grapes very expensive to grow.
That was the same concept voiced by California grape grower and shipper Craig Ito of Ito Packing in Reedly, CA. He had not heard that Korean grapes were in the United States, but informed of that fact, he questioned how they could compete against U.S. product in the latter part of the summer. As these Korean grapes hit the market, California still has a couple of months left in the season. Volume and quality of California-grown grapes are near their peak, and the f.o.b. price is not high. Just how can a product grown across the world and shipped by ocean be offered at an attractive price, he asked.
Ms. Chung of M.G. Produce said that the grapes coming from Korea will be the Campbell and the Muscat varieties, with the main consumers being Koreans. Neither of these varieties are major U.S.-grown varieties.
It is a small volume of fruit, but Ms. Nave said that every bit hurts. Consumption in the United States is not growing, she said. Over the last decade, consumption in the U.S. has been fairly flat at about seven to eight pounds per person.
She said that a few grapes from South Africa and a few from Italy have already come into the market, and now, with these grapes from Korea added to the mix, demand for U.S.-grown grapes can be affected. However, Ms. Nave said that she is confident that U.S. consumers will continue to prefer California-grown grapes, but the supply and demand curve relationship is a well-traveled economic model that typically works 100 percent of the time. As supply increases and demand remains static, prices will fall.
What seems to be disconcerting to the California grape industry is the competition at the height of its season. Years ago, Chile and Mexico cracked open the U.S. market, but the majority of their production is counter-seasonal. Over the years, shipments from those two countries have increasingly encroached upon U.S. production, but it has still been confined to the beginning or the end of the season. These newer assaults tend to hit during the peak of U.S. production.
While South Koreas shipments this year will no doubt be minimal because of the restrictive protocol, Ms. Nave said that the game of gaining access to foreign markets is almost always one of first getting a foot in the door and then progressively widening the opening. She said that California producers have done the same thing in Australia. Initially the protocol to ship U.S.-grown grapes to that market were very restrictive. U.S. shippers agreed to that protocol and have continually attempted to build a case to ease the restrictions and increase the volume.
South Korean grape shippers will likely play the same game as they try to establish a market in the United States.
On Friday, Aug. 19, the Korean Agriculture & Fisheries Ministry announced that 330 kilograms of the Campbell Early grape variety, produced in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, passed quarantine inspection earlier in the week and were shipped via air to Los Angeles. The JoongAng Daily Korean newspaper reported that the grapes arrived at the Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday, Aug. 18.
The 330-kilogram shipment (727.5 pounds) would have only represented two or three dozen U.S.-sized containers, so not surprisingly, there was no sign of the grapes in Los Angeles. Representatives of neither Valley Fruit & Produce Co. nor Giumarra Bros., both located on the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market, had seen the grapes or were aware of their existence.
Kathleen Nave of the California Table Grape Commission said that the commission had been notified by the USDA's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service that South Korean grapes following specific protocols were now able to be shipped to the United States, but she had no independent knowledge that shipments had begun.
Cecilia Chung with M.G. Produce in Los Angeles, a self-identified importer of Korean produce, said that she was aware that some Korean grapes were headed for the United States by sea, but she did not know about the air shipment. She speculated that the first shipment via air was hothouse grapes, which she indicated were not her specialty. "Too expensive," she quipped. We only bring in outside grapes, referring to grapes grown outdoors.
Ms. Chung said that it takes 17 days to ship grapes via the ocean to the United States, so she was waiting to see how the first shipment arrived before importing any on her own. I want to see if they are fresh, she said. I dont want to be first; Ill be second.
The Korean importer said that the grape season in South Korea will last for several months, allowing for shipments into January. She indicated that these late-August shipments represent the very beginning of the season.
According to a press release from the Korean Agriculture Ministry, an additional 748 tons of grapes will be exported this year from Hwaseong and Youngcheon, North Gyeongsang Province. That would represent about 75,000 20-pound carton equivalents. Ms. Nave confirmed the reports from the South Korean sources that these initial shipments are the result of 10 years of efforts by the Koreans to crack the U.S. market. The CTGC president said that the commission has not been intimately involved in the effort, instead leaving the job of protecting U.S. agriculture to the USDA. We leave the science to APHIS, she said. Of course we would prefer not to have competition in our market at a time when we really dont need it, but we do understand that other countries are trying to gain access to the U.S. market.
Ms. Nave appeared to understand that it is a world market place and access will be granted to the U.S. market unless there is a compelling reason to deny it. In the case of South Korean grapes, both governments have been debating the impact of diseases and insects for years. USDAs APHIS, according to the Korean press release, opened the market last November only for grapes from farms that were zoned beforehand and the grapes destined for export were grown covered with bags. In response, the Agriculture Ministry designated Hwaseong and Yeongcheon in North Gyeongsang province as the zones for exports to the United States.
Carolyn Pizzo, operations support officer for the California Plant Health Directors Office of the USDAs APHIS, said that the actual opening date of the U.S. market to Korean grapes came on Dec. 10, 2004, with the publication of the 12th periodic amendment. At the same time, she said that the U.S. market was opened for other Korean fresh products including cucurbits, watermelon, cucumbers and oriental melons.
Ms. Nave said that the protocol is very restrictive and will accordingly limit the volume from Korea. How many growers will take those steps? she asked rhetorically. That [protocol] is going to make the grapes very expensive to grow.
That was the same concept voiced by California grape grower and shipper Craig Ito of Ito Packing in Reedly, CA. He had not heard that Korean grapes were in the United States, but informed of that fact, he questioned how they could compete against U.S. product in the latter part of the summer. As these Korean grapes hit the market, California still has a couple of months left in the season. Volume and quality of California-grown grapes are near their peak, and the f.o.b. price is not high. Just how can a product grown across the world and shipped by ocean be offered at an attractive price, he asked.
Ms. Chung of M.G. Produce said that the grapes coming from Korea will be the Campbell and the Muscat varieties, with the main consumers being Koreans. Neither of these varieties are major U.S.-grown varieties.
It is a small volume of fruit, but Ms. Nave said that every bit hurts. Consumption in the United States is not growing, she said. Over the last decade, consumption in the U.S. has been fairly flat at about seven to eight pounds per person.
She said that a few grapes from South Africa and a few from Italy have already come into the market, and now, with these grapes from Korea added to the mix, demand for U.S.-grown grapes can be affected. However, Ms. Nave said that she is confident that U.S. consumers will continue to prefer California-grown grapes, but the supply and demand curve relationship is a well-traveled economic model that typically works 100 percent of the time. As supply increases and demand remains static, prices will fall.
What seems to be disconcerting to the California grape industry is the competition at the height of its season. Years ago, Chile and Mexico cracked open the U.S. market, but the majority of their production is counter-seasonal. Over the years, shipments from those two countries have increasingly encroached upon U.S. production, but it has still been confined to the beginning or the end of the season. These newer assaults tend to hit during the peak of U.S. production.
While South Koreas shipments this year will no doubt be minimal because of the restrictive protocol, Ms. Nave said that the game of gaining access to foreign markets is almost always one of first getting a foot in the door and then progressively widening the opening. She said that California producers have done the same thing in Australia. Initially the protocol to ship U.S.-grown grapes to that market were very restrictive. U.S. shippers agreed to that protocol and have continually attempted to build a case to ease the restrictions and increase the volume.
South Korean grape shippers will likely play the same game as they try to establish a market in the United States.
