Haenam Sweet Potatoes Highly Preferred, 100 Tons Scheduled for Export This Year

Hwasan-myeon Haenam Sweet Potato Cooperative held a sweet potato export shipment event. (Photo by Haenam-gun)

[Haenam＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] On the 18th, Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that it held a sweet potato export loading event at the Haenam Sweet Potato Cooperative in Hwasan-myeon.

The loaded sweet potatoes are quantities exported to Hong Kong. Sweet potatoes produced in Haenam are preferred by locals due to their superior taste, sweetness, and quality compared to Indonesian or Vietnamese sweet potatoes. Due to their excellent marketability, they are sold locally at a high price of about 15,000 KRW per kilogram.

Last year, the county exported about 80 tons and 300 million KRW worth of sweet potatoes and processed sweet potato products to four countries including Europe and Southeast Asia. This year, it has exported about 40 tons and 100 million KRW worth to two countries, Singapore and Hong Kong, and plans to export an additional 60 tons and 300 million KRW in the future.

To expand sweet potato exports, the Agricultural Technology Center is providing high-quality production technology guidance, distributing virus-free seedlings, and promoting various export support projects.

Also, Hwasan Nonghyup in the region is focusing on high-quality production and management, and the Haenam Sweet Potato Cooperative is developing sales channels and processed products to increase exports.

Meanwhile, Haenam-gun has established a ‘Haenam Sweet Potato Industry Comprehensive Development Plan’ to produce the highest quality sweet potatoes and increase consumer satisfaction. By 2025, it will invest about 29.7 billion KRW to promote a total of 26 projects covering production, distribution, and processing, including the establishment of the Haenam Sweet Potato Research Center.

Currently, the processing and semi-processing ratio of sweet potatoes is about 10%, and it plans to expand this to about 30%, while increasing sweet potato exports to 300 tons. For this, it will develop products, foster food materials and semi-processing industries, and expand the export-specialized production complex to 200 hectares by 2025.

Haenam is the largest sweet potato production area in Jeollanam-do, producing about 34,000 tons annually from about 600 farms and 1,964 hectares of cultivation area, accounting for 10% of the national cultivation area.

Haenam sweet potatoes, grown in loess soil rich in germanium and exposed to sea breeze, have high sweetness and contain abundant dietary fiber and minerals. They are registered as Geographical Indication Agricultural Product No. 42, recognized for their quality.

County Governor Myeong Hyun-gwan said, “Haenam sweet potatoes, recognized as the best nationwide, are preparing for another leap forward by establishing a comprehensive development plan covering quality, distribution, and processing,” and added, “We expect that expanding exports will not only improve farmers’ income but also enhance the reputation of Haenam sweet potatoes, loved by the entire nation.”