Instead, imports of lemons, mangoes and grapefruit rose, according to the data released by the country’s customs office.
Oranges and bananas accounted for 48 percent of the total fruit imports in 2013, compared with 71 percent in 2003.
Fruit imports from countries with which South Korea has signed a free trade agreement (FTA), such as the United States, Chile and ASEAN member states, reached US$862 million or 92.8 percent of the total fruit imports last year.
A total of 648,000 tons of fruit, or 94.8 percent of the total were imported from those countries in 2013.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
