Cheongdo peaches on track for expanded Southeast Asia exports

Cheongdo-gun in North Gyeongsang Province held a peach export shipment ceremony at the Samseongsan Crop Production Unit's sorting facility on Monday to mark the expansion of Cheongdo peach exports to Southeast Asia and reaffirm its commitment to strengthening the fruit's competitiveness in overseas markets.

The ceremony was organized to celebrate the full-scale launch of this year's Cheongdo peach export season and to support continued efforts to open new overseas markets.

The "Geumhwang" variety — Cheongdo's signature peach — completed sorting that day and is set to ship to Southeast Asian markets, where it is expected to draw strong interest from local consumers thanks to its high sugar content and superior quality.

Additional varieties, including Mihwang, are planned for export on a rolling basis.

The Samseongsan Crop Production Unit exported about 4 metric tons of peaches worth $27,000 last year and has already shipped roughly 7 metric tons this year, a significant increase in volume.

"Cheongdo peaches have earned recognition for their quality and high sugar content in overseas markets," Cheongdo-gun Mayor Park Gwon-hyeon said. "We will continue to diversify export varieties and steadily expand stable overseas sales channels to raise the brand value of Cheongdo peaches and do our utmost to increase farm household incomes."