Outbound plant inspections up, signaling boost in exports

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- Outbound quarantine inspections of locally grown plants rose 19 percent on-year in 2009 as South Korea moved to build up its farm sector as a new export industry, a government report said Wednesday.

The National Plant Quarantine Service (NPQS) said export-related inspections
totaled 58,743 last year, up from 49,218 in 2008.
Inspections are needed because many countries require certificates that the plant
life has been checked in advance for pests or harmful parasites.
In 2009, South Korea's farm exports grew 6.9 percent from the previous year to
reach US$4.80 billion.
The NPQS said there was a sharp rise in quarantine inspections carried out on
rice, sweet persimmons, onions, mushrooms, roses and carnations.
Germany imported South Korean-grown rice, with the United States and China buying
mushrooms. Japan, the largest importer of South Korean farm products, asked for
inspections of various flowers and melons.
The government agency under the farm ministry said quarantine inspections carried
out on imports, meanwhile, declined 3 percent to 145,638 cases from 150,669 cases
the year before.
There was a 17 percent drop in inspections of flowers, along with double digit
decrease for fruits and animal feed.
The sluggish domestic economy was cited as the main cause of the decrease in
import-related quarantine inspections.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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