President Lee: “Our sweet persimmons exported to China for the first time ... We’ll support efforts to open up new export markets”

[Financial News] President Lee Jae Myung announced on the 7th that he would actively support efforts to open up new export markets for agricultural products, sharing news of the first export of Korea’s sweet persimmons to China.
The president shared a related post by Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryeong on X (formerly Twitter) that day, writing, “After 17 years of quarantine negotiations, our sweet persimmons are finally being exported to the Chinese market for the first time.”
“As our export markets expand to China from their previous concentration in Southeast Asia, new opportunities are opening up for our farmers,” he said. “Diversifying export destinations can reduce our dependence on any single market and allow us to introduce our agricultural products to more consumers.”
He added, emphasizing, “I will actively support efforts to open up new export markets so that more of the agricultural products you have carefully grown, farmers, can be sold and farm incomes can rise.”
According to Minister Song, quarantine negotiations for exporting Korean persimmons to China, which began in 2008, were concluded in connection with last year’s Gyeongju South Korea-China summit. The first shipment, totaling 19.6 tonnes, is set to be sold through high-end retail outlets and other channels in Shanghai.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation plan to target China’s premium market by highlighting the crisp texture and high sugar content of Korean sweet persimmons, which can be eaten right after harvest.
[email protected] Choi Jong-geun Reporter