LOCAL HORTICULTURAL VARIETIES

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Royalties for foreign horticultural products have fallen dramatically as Korean farmers succeeded in localizing fruits and flowers over the years. More and more local varieties are also receiving royalties from abroad.

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This rose variety is named Dignity, suited to its magnificent beauty. This bright yellow Egg Tart variety is resistant to fungal infections. These local rose varieties developed by Korean horticultural technology are ready to blossom before they’re shipped out. The marketability and price competitiveness of these roses are exceptional as they are more radiant than their foreign counterparts.

[Soundbite] Jeong Sang-hak(Plant Farm Manager) : "These flowers are just as marketable as foreign varieties in terms of quality or flower shapes."

The Rural Development Administration has developed local varieties by studying recent market demands. As a result, the localization rates of the rose and 12 other horticultural crops has increased by more than 10 percentage points over the past ten years. Korea used to pay nearly 17.5 billion won for royalties in 2012, but the amount fell below 10 billion won in 2020 and even lower to 9.58 billion won last year. The royalty has nearly halved over the past decade. As premium local varieties are developed, some fruits and flowers ended up receiving royalties from overseas Thirty local varieties of five crops, namely the rose, strawberry, chrysanthemum, kiwi and Italian ryegrass, have earned some 2.5 billion won in royalties in the past seven years.

[Soundbite] Lee Seung-jin(Rural Development Administration) : "Farmers can save on royalties to boost their overall income."

The RDA plans to steadily boost the localization rate of horticultural crops while cultivating and distributing customized varieties that can satisfy both farmers and consumers.