South Korea: Citrus Annual

Korea’s marketing year (MY) 2024/25 citrus production is forecast down 2.6 percent to 565,000 MT, a 10-year low, on gradually declining acreage and adverse weather conditions. Jeju Island, where nearly all Korean citrus is grown, experienced a prolonged summer heat wave lasting into mid-September, followed by excessive fall rain, which caused fruit cracking and rot. Citrus consumption increased in MY 2023/24, as shortages of other domestic fruit (apples, pears, persimmons) led consumers to substitute with amply supplied domestic mandarins and imported oranges, whose consumption increased by 4.3 and 11.5 percent, respectively. Imports of fresh oranges, mostly from the United States, are forecast down in MY 2024/2025, as emergency tariff rate quotas for imported fruit are not expected to be renewed. In June 2024, the United States gained market access for Texas grapefruit, and the first shipments are expected to arrive in Korea in December.