72 DECEMBER 2024 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG A Korean Pyropia farm with floating nets. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF, Minister Kang Do-hyung) announced the ‘Gim Industry Competitiveness Enhancement Plan’ for stable supply and quality improvement through smart and large-scale production and processing of laver. With branding and export support, Korea aims to reach $1 billion in exports by 2027. The international standardization of Korean domestic laver (Pyropia sp.) as ‘GIM’ is also being considered. The MOF announced the Plan on the 31st of October, which included measures to improve the entire cycle from production to processing and export. Gim is Korea’s representative seafood and export food, and last year it achieved 1 trillion won (US$790 million) in exports for the first time. Korean laver accounts for more than 70 % of the global laver market. However, as the global recognition of Korean culture and food has increased, the demand for laver has surged. The volume of global laver trade rose from 440 billion dollars in 2014 to 1.08 billion dollars in 2023, with an average annual growth rate of 10.5 %. The total domestic production of raw laver (fresh laver, Mul Gim) has remained at the level of 500,000 to 600,000 tons annually, requiring price stabilization through supply expansion. In addition, preemptive countermeasures are required due to rising water temperatures caused by climate change. In the laver processing sector, 82% of dried laver companies are small and micro-sized companies with less than ten full-time employees. They cannot thus invest in quality improvement and production automation. Therefore, policies are needed to overcome small-scale business characteristics and realize economies of scale. In June, the MOF formed a ‘Gim Industry Council’ involving industry, academia, researchers, and government. The council collected various opinions, such as issues and suggestions for the laver industry presented by experts in the field and prepared the Plan. The MOF presented the Plan and four strategies to achieve the goal of $1 billion in Gim exports by 2027. Stable supply of raw materials for domestic consumption and export Next year, dried laver production is expected to increase by 10 million bundles (1 bundle = 100 sheets) from this year, to 160 million bundles (a 7% increase compared to 2024), contributing to stable supply and demand. We have expanded the laver farms to 2,700 ha (equivalent to 3,800 soccer fields), and we will also attempt offshore laver farming for the first time on a scale of 1,000 ha. We plan to review the supply and demand situation in 2025 and consider additional expansion of the aquaculture area. In addition, we will review the feasibility of an ‘aquaculture-only fishing port’ that can optimize the aquaculture process, such as the entry and exit of aquaculture management vessels, laver storage, and seafood processing exclusively for aquaculture. Starting next year, we plan to develop a technology for cultivating laver on land rather than at sea and to establish a stable production system in response to the rapidly changing climate, such as distributing laver varieties that are resistant to high temperatures after field verification. In addition, when small-scale farms are integrated and incorporated into fishing corporations, the government will support the projects of preferential treatment to encourage the scale-up of the laver farming industry. The KOREAN CHAPTER ARTICLE: Gim Industry Competitiveness Enhancement Plan: International Standardization and Upgrading of Korean Domestic Laver ‘GIM’ Park, Jong Myon Laver harvesting boats.
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