Search Results (3)

Onion cultivation in South Korea faces a range of interconnected challenges, shaped by fluctuating supply and demand dynamics, the dominance of imported seed varieties, and the growing issue of fungal pathogens affecting stored onions. In recent years, significant shifts occurred within the onion industry, such as export volumes in 2023 declining to 106 tons compared to 99,506 tons in 2022, while import volumes surged to 113,902 tons to meet domestic demand through the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) system. Concurrently, domestic production onion supply in 2023 estimates a total of 1.347 million tons, a 5.2% increase compared to the previous year, due to a 6.3% rise in domestic production. Despite this growth, South Korea’s onion seed market remains heavily dependent on imports, particularly from Japan, underscoring the need for the development of competitive domestic cultivars. Furthermore, environmental conditions such as microclimates in regions like Muan have proven to be critical, as they produce onions with superior nutritional profiles and storability. However, fungal diseases pose persistent threats to storage, resulting in substantial economic losses. However, the country’s reliance on imported varieties and the climate’s effects on cultivation call for more investment in domestic breeding programs and adaptive farming practices. To address these challenges, this review synthesizes historical data, current trends, and the future prospects of onion production, supply, and demand in South Korea. Comprehensive strategies are proposed, including the promotion of adaptive farming practices, investment in domestic breeding programs, and enhanced storage techniques to mitigate fungal pathogens. This work emphasizes the importance of integrated efforts among policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders to improve productivity, reduce reliance on imports, and secure a sustainable future for the South Korean onion industry. The findings offer actionable insights for enhancing market competitiveness and achieving agricultural sustainability. Full article

Higher levels of quota granted can induce and increase exports, but the impact is not the same across all tariff lines. Answers are sought to the question of how the level of exports changes as the quota size of tariff rate quotas changes, thus enabling the investigation of whether unilateral quotas granted to South Africa by the European Union have influenced fruit products’ export flows in the presence of non-tariff measures. Drawing on panel data regression techniques, this study observes five fruit products’ tariff rate quotas repeatedly from 2004 to 2021. It also incorporates a variable to capture non-tariff measures based on the data from the WTO I-TIP database. The findings indicate a positive relationship between quota size and exports, further showing that for a given quota size, the increase in exports is small in the presence of non-tariff measures. These findings draw attention to future trade reforms that focus on seeking the expansion of quota size for the most productive tariff lines in terms of export growth while aiming for the simultaneous reduction of non-tariff measures and tariff rates. Full article

Export trade provided for under tariff rate quotas (TRQs) is an important contributor to improving South Africa’s export access to European markets. The performance of exporter-administered TRQs has not received much research attention in the context of the below par market access utilisation of a given opportunity. The present study analysed how the country performed in terms of utilising its TRQ for canned pears, apricots, and peaches provided by the European Union (EU) for the period 2010 to 2019. The permit allocation system for TRQs in South Africa is described for further understanding of aspects of the TRQ system likely to affect quota fill. Performance was assessed in terms of yearly quota utilisation rates as well as welfare measured in equivalent variation calculated in a computable general equilibrium (CGE) trade model. The analysis found that the canned fruit TRQ exhibited a fill rate average of 61% for the past 10 years (2010–2019) and 49% for the period 2015–2019, thus falling far short of the goal of achieving full market access availed by the EU within the protocols of liberalised trade. The welfare effects of trade liberalisation confirmed the underutilisation of the TRQ indicated by a welfare loss, considering the difference in gains of an underutilised quota (USD 2497) and a fully utilised quota (USD 2530). The study highlights the importance of full utilisation of preferences. Full article