STRAWBERRY HARVEST BEGINS

[Anchor Lead]

Strawberry harvesting has begun in Nonsan, Chungcheongnam-do Province, known as the largest strawberry producer in Korea. Winter strawberries are usually harvested in early December, but this year harvesting began a month earlier. We take you there now.

[Pkg]

A greenhouse is full of fragrant strawberries. Ripe red berries peak out from under bushes of green leaves. Farmers are seen busy picking the berries and in no time, the baskets are full. This breed of strawberries is known as the Seolhyang, the most widely cultivated breed in Korea. The berries were planted in mid-August. Now two months later, they are ready to be harvested. It's a month earlier than usual, as winter strawberries are usually harvested and sold between late November and early December. The price of strawberries these days is 1.5 to even 2 times higher than during the high-demand season costing over 30,000 won per kilogram.

[Soundbite] Seo Mi-ah(Strawberry farmer) : "When supply is high, prices go down. That's why early harvesting is more productive."

Nonsan, the largest strawberry producer in Korea, holds a 13.5 percent share in the domestic market. Starting with the Seolhyang breed, shipments of winter strawberries are to gain speed from late November. To raise its market share to 20 percent, Nonsan is expanding the cultivation of new breeds that are sweeter and with a longer shelf life, such as the King's Berry and the Vita Berry breeds.

[Soundbite] Kim Jung-hoon(Nonsan Agricultural Technology Center) : "Those breeds are in high demand despite their expensive price. They currently account for 5%, but we plan to raise it to 10% in the future."

Winter strawberries will be shipped through May or June of next year starting with the berries grown in Nonsan.