Supermarkets stocking more locally grown fruit including bananas and citrus
Rising temperatures are fuelling domestic production of tropical fruits in South Korea. As reported in Korea JoongAng Daily, domestic supermarkets are stocking more locally grown alternatives to imports such as bananas from the Philippines, grapefruits from the US and lemons from Spain as homegrown production increases.
Domestic banana output has risen sharply in recent years as warmer weather extends growing regions beyond Jeju, Korea’s southernmost island, to places like Shinan County in South Jeolla, the daily reports. According to the Rural Development Administration, the number of hectates dedicated to subtropical crop cultivation in South Jeolla more than doubled last year alone.
One supermarket, Lotte Mart sold just 0.5 tonnes of Jeju-grown bananas in 2022 but expects sales to reach 4 tonnes this year. It also reported that sales of domestic tropical fruits such as bananas, dragon fruit and passion fruit rose 13 per cent in 2024 and 15 per cent in 2025.
“In the past, locally grown tropical fruits mostly came from Jeju, but rising temperatures have expanded cultivation areas to the southern coast, including Shinan and Wando in South Jeolla,” Yang Hye-won, a fruit merchandise planner at Lotte Mart and Lotte Super, told the newspaper. “Consumers who prioritise high quality and freshness are increasingly choosing domestically grown tropical fruits.”
