Very Sweet Jeju Gamgyul

Fresh Food _ Jeju Gamgyul
three times bigger than ordinary gamgyul and is really
juicy. Its peel is also very thin.
Brand for Export: “Sunbreeze.” Developed
Special Packing Boxes for Exported Citrus
This year, the export goal for Jeju gamgyul is
The design of
special packing
box for export developed
by Jeju
Nonghyup for the
first time (up)
10,000 tons. With this figure in mind, a lot of efforts
are being made to diversify the export markets to
Canada, Russia, and Southeast Asian countries - in
addition to the US and UK markets. Creating the
gamgyul export brand, Sunbreeze, is a part of such ef-
Gamgyuls are
sorted by size
and quality in the
packing house for
exportation (right)
forts. The name is a combination of the words “sun”
and “breeze.” Another important task is to develop
more durable packing boxes for the exported fruits.
The new boxes can prevent damage caused by pres-
sure and are expected to reduce the perishability rate
to a minimum. Moreover, farmers receive more edu-
cation concerned with agrichemical safety, and the
farms engaged in exports receive thorough plant pest
inspections. All these efforts aim at producing cleaner
and higher quality wholesome fruits.
and flavonoid. Yet another virtue of gamgyul is its
Lee Yong-min, Citrus Team Chief at the
smooth and thin skin that is easy to peel.
Nonghyup Jeju Regional Head Office, says that gam-
Hanrabong and Cheonhyehyang Boast the
Highest Sweetness
gyul is a prestigious fruit that is highly competitive in
every aspect, including quality and nutritional value.
He adds, “We are trying hard to increase the exports
so that overseas consumers can taste sweet Jeju gam-
Jeju gamgyul comes in some 340 varieties. The
gyul.”
main one is Satsuma mandarin (citrus unshiu), but re-
cently farmers are breeding many different kinds of
gamgyul through cultivar diversification. Bare-ground
gamgyul, with 10Brix and within 1% of acidity, is
grown in the clean natural environment of Jeju Island.
It starts turning yellow in September and is harvested
from mid-October. Hanrabong is considered to be the
“Hanrabong” has a
soft inner layer of
skin, and the average
sweetness
13~14Brix
number one variety in terms of sweetness, flavor, and
texture. It is characterized by a protruded top and soft
inner layer of skin, so that it is easy to peel. Its aver-
age sweetness is 13~14Brix, but, depending on
growing conditions, it is possible to produce the citrus
with more than 16Brix. Cheonhyehyang, meaning
“strong scent wafted a thousand miles up,” is two to
Inquiries Jeju Gamgyul Assocation, Inc. Tel +82-64-720-1340~6 Fax +82-64-758-1726 Website www.jejucitrus.org
20 Korea AgraFood
Issue194 Nov. 2011
21