• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.21 no.7
• /
• pp.303-311
• /
• 2020

The acreage of tangerines in the U.S. sharply rose from 19,000 ha in 2009 to 27,000 ha in 2016, an increase of 42% in 7 years. Considering the recent surge in tangerine exports to Japan, the export volume of 6-7 thousand tons is highly likely to increase in the future. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the economic impact of U.S. tangerine imports on the Korean citrus industry under various scenarios. In order to examine the possibility of imports of U.S. tangerines, the unit price of U.S. exports to Japan was used since U.S. tangerines are not imported to South Korea. Citrus fruits are divided into field citrus, house citrus, and late-maturing citrus (including winter season citrus) based on the cultivation method and variety used to analyze. Considering both the field and house seasons, the import volume of U.S. tangerines can be expected to rise from roughly 4,700 tons in 2021 to 10,000 tons in 2027. Imports of U.S. tangerines may be pushed up or delayed depending not only on the harvest method and quality of domestic field and house citrus but also on the harvest of U.S. tangerines. However, it is necessary to note that tangerines could be imported after 2021, when the tariff rate on U.S. tangerines will fall below 50%.