Dimpled Fruit Campaign

[Anchor Lead]

A sudden hailstorm in September took a toll on roughly 90 farms in Gangwon-do Province. A campaign to sell the so-called "dimpled apples," bruised by the hail, is receiving a very positive response as a way to help out farmers facing difficulties.

[Pkg]

Sudden hail in September took a toll on some 90 farms measuring 63 hectares in Gangwon-do Province. Two months have passed and harvested apples, which were bruised by the hail, are in no demand and pile up at storage facilities. The volume of the so-called "dimpled apples" amounts to 690 tons in Gangwon-do Province alone. A campaign was staged to sell the bruised apples in order to help farmers hit by the hail.

[Soundbite] "It is really delicious!"

Despite their bruises, the apples are popular, since they taste good and sell for half the market price.

[Soundbite] Jeong Hyang-ja(Hail-hit Apple Purchaser) : "The apples are crunchy and delicious. I hope that the farmers will sell apples a lot and reduce their damages from the hail."

It is a relief to farmers who worried about the hail damage and poor demand for their products.

[Soundbite] Lee Bok-ja(Hail-hit Apple Farmer) : "I thank them for giving us an opportunity to sell our apples. It is indescribable."

The Gangwon-do provincial government and public agencies will help the hail-hit farmers by holding special promotional events and processing their apples into juice by later this month.