350,000 Visitors Flock to Taste Korean Strawberries... K-Strawberries Captivate Southeast Asian Palates

Last Year Strawberry Export Value Up 22% Compared to Previous Year
All 10 Tons Sold Out at Last Month's Strawberry Promotion Event in Bangkok

Korean strawberries, known for their sweet taste and aroma, are capturing the palates of Southeast Asians.

On the 3rd, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that the export value of agricultural and food products recorded until November last year was $8.27 billion (approximately 10.7 trillion KRW). Among these, strawberry exports amounted to $56.1 million, a 22.2% increase compared to the same period the previous year. Particularly, Korean strawberries are gaining attention in Southeast Asia, where the export value to the Southeast Asian market exceeded $60 million in 2022. The main importers of Korean strawberries are Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Customers visiting Hanaro Mart Yangjae Branch in Seocho-gu, Seoul, last January are looking at strawberries. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Among Asian countries, the popularity of Korean strawberries in Thailand is increasing day by day. According to data from the Thai Ministry of Commerce, Korean strawberries held a 33% market share in 2020. Riding on this popularity, the '2024 Nonsan City Agricultural and Food Overseas Expo' was held last month at a large shopping mall in Thailand. This event was the first of its kind held by a local government in Thailand, taking place from the 14th to the 16th of last month around the Siam Paragon area in Bangkok. Approximately 350,000 people, including locals and tourists, visited the expo.

The most popular booth at the expo was the strawberry-related event. At the strawberry promotion event prepared by Nonsan City, all 10 tons of strawberries were sold out, and 90,000 people participated in booth experiences such as making strawberry desserts. Additionally, through this expo, Nonsan City signed agricultural product export agreements worth $23 million with seven countries including Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar. A Nonsan City official explained, "Not only Southeast Asian countries but also companies from the United States and Japan, where strawberry demand and market size are large, showed interest." Nonsan City plans to use the success of this expo as a foundation to prepare for the 2027 Nonsan World Strawberry Industry Expo.

Baek Seong-hyun, Mayor of Nonsan City, Chungnam, is holding an agricultural and food export agreement ceremony at the S31 Sukhumvit Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, on the 15th of last month.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Baek Seong-hyun, mayor of Nonsan City, stated, "We were able to confirm the potential of Nonsan strawberries in Bangkok, a key Southeast Asian city previously dominated by Japanese strawberries," adding, "Going forward, Nonsan City will work closely with farmers to expand export routes for agricultural products through distribution and promotional strategies tailored to export regions, and to cultivate and harvest even better strawberries."

Miryang City in Gyeongnam, the birthplace of strawberry cultivation in Korea, also held the 'World Strawberry Symposium' from the 29th of last month to the 2nd. The symposium, themed 'Miryang Strawberry 1943＊, A Fresh Start!', was held at Cafe Wicked Wife Pairing Bar & Cafestalk in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. The event was attended by strawberry producers and consumers as well as foreigners from major strawberry-producing countries worldwide, providing an opportunity to experience the excellent taste and quality of Miryang strawberries. Strawberry cultivation in Korea began in 1943 when the late Song Joon-saeng, a director of the Samrangjin Financial Cooperative in Miryang, brought about ten strawberry seedlings from Japan and planted them in Songji-ri, Samrangjin-eup.