The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) recently forecast that Korea’s tangerine/mandarin production will decline 2.6% in marketing year 2024–25, to 565,000 metric tons (MT). Korea doesn’t produce oranges or grapefruit and only a small crop of lemons — an estimated 550 MT on 35 hectares in 2023.
LOW FORECAST
The tangerine/mandarin forecast, if realized, would be the lowest production level in the past decade and about 8% lower than the five-year average production level of 612,000 MT.
The primary reason for the decline is the reduced harvest of open-field Unshu tangerines, which account for approximately 70% of total citrus production in Korea. In 2024, Jeju Island, where nearly all Korean citrus is grown, experienced extreme heat during the summer season and frequent rainfall just before the harvest period (September to October). That led to increased rates of fruit cracking, fruit drop and spoilage.
PLANTED AREA
In 2024–25, Korea’s tangerine/mandarin planted area is estimated down around 1% from the previous year to 19,514 hectares, continuing the recent trend of gradually declining citrus acreage. The primary reasons for declining planted area Korea’s aging farmer population and real estate development.
PROCESSING
In 2024–25, the use of citrus for processing (tangerine juice concentrate) is expected to decrease by approximately 7% from the previous year, to around 40,000 MT. This decline is mainly due to reduced supplies of open-field tangerines and an anticipated increase in domestic tangerine prices, which encourages farmers to sell to the fresh market.
TRADE
In 2024–25, Korea’s fresh citrus exports, comprised mostly of early-maturing tangerines, are expected to decrease by 25% from the previous year to an estimated 3,000 MT. The major export destination will be Russia, which accounted for 56% (2,234 MT) of total citrus exports in 2023–24. Canada and the United States are the next largest markets, accounting for 12.3% (493 MT) and 9.5% (379 MT) of exports, respectively.
Korea has greatly increased imports of mandarins. Imports rose from 740 MT in 2022–23 to 3,100 MT in 2023–24. This increase is projected to continue.
See the full USDA FAS report on Korean citrus here.
Source: USDA FAS
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