Strawberry season is back. With their sweet and sour taste, Korean strawberries are popular not only in Korea but also abroad. As of 2021, Korea's strawberry exports amounted to USD 64.6789 million, an increase of more than 14 times compared to USD 4.406 million in 2005. In particular, Korean strawberries are mainly exported to Southeast Asia, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Locally, Korean strawberries are recognized for their marketability enough to be called ‘premium.’ Strawberry, the representative of K-Food. We introduce Korean strawberries in celebration of the ‘Strawberry Season.’

#Korean Strawberries Lead K-Food
Korean strawberry varieties are diverse. The distribution rate of Korean strawberry varieties, which was only 9.2% in 2005, exceeded 96.3% as of September, 2021. There are 18 strawberry varieties on sale in Korea. According to the Korea Rural Development Administration, ‘Seolhyang’ is the No.1 market share among Korean strawberry varieties. Seolhyang is fruity and juicy with soft flesh, well-balanced sugar and acidity, and bright red color. On the other hand, ‘Maehyang’ is suitable for export because of its firm flesh and high storability. The sugar content is  high at 12.4 brix, and it has a sweet and sour taste. Recently, ‘Kuemsil’ is drawing attention as an export strawberry. A cross-breed of Maehyang and Seolhyang, Kuemsil is very sweet and has a peach scent. The  average weight is 20.4 g, so it is recognized as a premium fruit.

Like the name ‘King of Strawberries,’ ‘Kingsberry’ is 2 to 3 times larger than regular strawberries. With its soft texture, high sugar content, and subtle peach scent, it is becoming known as an export strawberry. ‘Arihyang’ stands out as a new variety that will vitalize the strawberry export market. It is a variety cultivated by the Rural Development Administration, and has excellent hardness and high sugar content compared to Maehyang, and is also excellent as an export strawberry because it has a large fruit. In additinon, Arihyang has received good responses from consumers in Hong Kong and Singapore through trial exports.
These Korean strawberries are exported to Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, as well as Hong Kong and Singapore. Korea is operating an aircraft dedicated to exporting strawberries to these countries. From November of this year to May of next year, Korean strawberries will be transported through 8 routes including Hong Kong and Singapore, Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Manila. The purpose is to let locals taste high-quality Korean strawberries. It is for the same reason that the Rural Development Administration previously developed a CA container that controls atmospheric conditions such as temperature, humidity, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. Even though it took two weeks to transport to Hong Kong, the quality of the Kuemsil was remained the same. As such, efforts to continue the reputation of Korean strawberries are being added  everywhere.

#Integrated Strawberry Export Organization, ‘K-berry’
K-berry is a Korean strawberry export organization established by producers and exporters. Currently, 106 member companies are participating, and as of 2021, K-berry strawberry exports amounted to USD 61.38 million. accounting for more than 90% of all Korean strawberry exports. K-berry has been focusing on producing ‘high-quality strawberries’ since the beginning of its establishment. To this end, K-berry has secured GAP-certified farms and assigns producer history IDs to manage agricultural products from farm to table according to step-by-step management standards. In addition, by establishing an ERP system, all data of K-berry is efficiently managed. It is a measure to produce and export high-quality strawberries through information exchange and quick decision-making among all member companies. 
K-berry has also a strict safety management. It produces clean strawberries by complying with the Korea’s pesticide residue tolerance standards under the PLS system. And it applies a systematic safety standard management system such as inspection of pesticide residue tolerance standards for each exporting country, so that overseas consumers consume them with trust.

K-berry President Seo Hyun-woo said, “K-berry is also operating a cold chain system. Strawberries that have been pre-refrigerated after harvest are treated with carbon dioxide and chlorine dioxide at the same time. It has the effect of increasing strawberry hardness and suppressing spoilage to extend storage and shelf life.” 
One of K-berry's main businesses is ‘expansion of premium strawberry export.’ Premium Strawberry is a product composed of GAP, Global GAP, and Halal-certified strawberries, and the motto is to export strawberries that everyone in the world can trust and consume. Last year, Korea’s premium strawberry brand ‘Tina Berry’ was launched, and this year, it is increasing its production with support from farmers.
K-berry plans to focus more on exploring new markets in the future. In addition to Hong Kong and Singapore, which are the main export markets, it plans to export Korean strawberries to countries with still high potential demand, such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Seo Hyun-woo, CEO of K-berry, is planning to focus its capabilities to advance not only to the capital city but also to second-tier cities. He said, “airlines conduct local market research before launching new routes. It is to see if there is marketability. I will think about how to pioneer a new strawberry market by using my experience working in the cargo team of Korean Air, the national flag carrier of Korea.”

#Increasing The Added Value Of Strawberries
Korean strawberries are also made as processed food. Strawberry jam is the typical example. ‘Father’s Hill Strawberry Jam’ made by Farming Association Enzyme Farm has no sugar, but instead, it uses grain sugar. Grain sugar is made by extracting sugar from six Korean ingredients, including barley, rice, and brown rice, and fermenting it for 13 hours. The strawberry content is 80%, so the texture of the strawberry is excellent.
Organic Love Co., Ltd. makes organic strawberry jam using only organic raw ingredients such as organic strawberries (60%) and unrefined organic sugar (40%). This product, which slowly draws out the sweetness through low-temperature concentration, is packaged in a stick type, so it can be squeezed out one by one and eat it. Daesang F&B Co., Ltd. recently introduced ‘Jam Down Jam,’ which uses allulose and erythritolm, which are attracting attention as healthy sweeteners instead of sugar, to preserve the sweet taste but lower calories. Freeze-dried products are also available. One of them is ‘Four Seasons Whole Strawberries’ by Lacky Food. This product is a whole freeze-dried Seolhyang of more than 18 g, and retains the flavor of Korean Seolhyang. In particular, ‘Four Seasons Whole Strawberries’ is introduced as a safe product as it is processed from GAP-certified strawberries in a HACCP-certified facility.
K-berry is also preparing freeze-dried strawberries. This year, for non-standard processing, K-berry has completed the development of ‘Berry In Chocolate,’ which is freeze-dried strawberries coated with four flavors of dark chocolate, matcha chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate, and has now entered the commercialization stage. 
In addition, Fine FT Co., Ltd.’s ‘Oligosaccharide Strawberry Latte Powder’, which makes various concentrates and extracts into powder products through spray drying techniques, also stands out. This product contains fructooligosaccharide, which has the effect of increasing beneficial bacteria and helping bowel movements. It is also registered in ‘K-Food Trade,’ a B2B platform which arranges transactions between the exporters and buyers of agricultural food products. In addition, Yeong Ui Jeong Co., Ltd.’s Strawberry Cream Cheese Rice Cake is a glutinous rice cake made by mixing freeze-dried strawberry powder, yogurt, and cream cheese. It goes well with dessert rice cakes if you defrost it.