Strawberries for Export

[Anchor Lead]

Korean strawberries are enjoying enormous popularity in Vietnam. Korea's unique strawberry varieties have proved successful not only at home but in other countries as well. The Vietnamese city of Da Lat, which takes one hour to reach by plane from Ho Chi Minh, is home to a strawberry farm located 1500 meters above sea level.

[Pkg]

The strawberry variety grown here is called "Goha." It was the first strawberry variety to be exported from Korea last December for a royalty fee. Thanks to their sweet flavor, the strawberries have become a hit among local consumers.

[Soundbite] Vietnamese tourist : "I heard that this area grows Korean strawberries using Korean technologies and that their quality is very good. "

Researchers are also conducting local adaptability tests on Korean corn and orchid varieties.

[Soundbite] Director of Vietnam Agricultural High Tech Park : "I think that three out of four corn varieties being studied here are outstanding."

Among the Korean seeds exported overseas, six crops of 19 varieties were developed by the Rural Development Administration alone. Their exports have been rising steadily.

[Soundbite] Ryu Gap-hee(Foundation of Agricultural Technology Commercialization & Transfer) : "In the past, we paid royalties to other countries for crop cultivation, but now we export domestic varieties to other countries for royalty fees."

Korea's agricultural sector is creating a sensation in the global market by exporting domestically developed crops to other parts of the world.