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Kim Sang-hoon (27), a job seeker who was passing by a supermarket in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on the 22nd, stopped when he saw the price tag. There was a ‘tray’ full of Shine Muscat, a high-quality fruit harvested in the summer and available only until October. Not long ago, it was 12,000 won per bunch, but it was one-third the price. Mr. Kim said, “I couldn’t eat Shine Muscat because it was expensive, but now it has become a fruit I can buy and eat without burden.”
Prices have been plummeting in recent years. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation, as of the 21st, the retail price of Shine Muscat was 12,965 won per 2 kg, down 63% from five years ago.
This is because the Shine Muscat cultivation area has increased significantly and competition for early shipment has intensified. Before September and October, when the sugar content reaches its peak, immature fruits (underripe fruits) are flooding into the market. The increase in the number of house greenhouse growers who can harvest in June has also intensified competition. Due to this, a ‘ban on early shipment’ campaign and crackdown was launched in Gimcheon and Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, where Shine Muscat is mainly produced. However, complaints had already grown among consumers that “it is not as sweet as before” and “the skin has become tough like a regular grape.”
Farmers who started growing Shine Muscat are switching back to regular Campbell grapes.
https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/023/0003938030