On the 15th, ‘Mangoya’ farm in Yeonggwang, Jeollanam-do. There are about 16,000 mango trees planted in the plastic greenhouses lined up so that you can’t see the end. The annual sales of this 33,000 square meter area reach 2 billion won. Park Min-ho, CEO of Mangoya, is a representative rich farmer of glory.
As direct trade between distributors and producers is spreading, skipping wholesale, wealthy farmers with billions of dollars are pouring in. An increase of about 30% compared to 10 years ago. Department stores such as Shinsegae, as well as hypermarkets and e-commerce stores, are increasing the number of fresh food buyers because they believe that it is difficult to survive in the fierce distribution competition without direct transactions with producers.
○To get out of the small farming structure
According to the National Statistical Office on the 16th, the number of farm households selling agricultural and livestock products over 100 million won last year was 38,000, a 26.7% increase from 10 years ago (30,000 households). The driving force behind the increase in wealthy farmers is direct dealings with large distributors. Mangoya farms are a prime example. CEO Park said, “When the product was first shipped under the brand Yeonggwang Mango in 2020, there were many voices of concern around it.”
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, in 2020, of the total mango cultivation area in Korea (77.90 ha), the cultivation area of Jeju farms accounted for 50.27 hectares, or 64.5%. The mango cultivation area in Jeonnam, including Yeonggwang, was only 10.56 ha.
In order for mangoes to take root in the soil of Yeonggwang, CEO Park has been conducting research since 2012. But unresolved homework remains. It was a market. He knew that the only way was to sell them to the wholesale market through Nonghyup, but he would accept only one-third of Jeju mangoes. Just in time, Shinsegae Department 메이저사이트Store appeared like a savior.
○ Fierce competition to secure fresh foodShinsegae was going through some difficulties around 2020. Demand for tropical fruits with high sugar content, such as mango, is increasing, but it was risky to rely only on Jeju as a source. We had to diversify our supply lines. According to Shinsegae, sales of new varieties of fruits such as domestic mango increased 18.2% year-on-year. Hyundai Department Store saw a 22% increase in premium fruit sales from January to July this year compared to the same period last year. This is three times the growth rate (7.5%) of overall fruit and vegetable sales during the same period.
At that time, it was an honor to be in the eyes of Shinsegae buyers. As Shinsegae sold the product with the label of ‘Yeonggwang Mango’ instead of ‘domestic mango’, Yeonggwang Mango started to get word of mouth as a premium fruit.
Shinsegae is operating a designated farm (select farm) system that selects crops from the production stage in collaboration with the producing area and directly manages product quality. An official from the department store industry said, “In the past, wholesalers lined up when people said they were going to sell something to a department store, but now the situation has changed a lot.” It is difficult to do,” he said.
○Department store buyers who go to production areasHyundai Department Store also overhauled its fresh food buyer work system earlier this year in order to increase direct transactions with producers. In the past, it was a buyer’s daily routine to go back and forth between the office and Garak Market. In the reorganized work system, three freshmen and buyers take turns going to domestic and foreign production sites every day.
Lotte Department Store is also expanding its direct transaction method by signing contracts with farmhouses discovered by its buyers.