Potatoes in South Korea are grown in different seasons/locations: a Spring, Autumn and Highland can be distinguished. The Spring crop accounts for about 2/3 of the production, followed by the highland crop, accounting for 24% of the production in 2015.
The main potato variety in South Korea is “Sumi”, a potato that is high in starch and used as table stock. Korea also grows the “Daeji” potato, a variety planted in the southern parts of the peninsula during autumn. The “Atlantic” variety is a chipping potato that’s grown when farmers have contracts with potato-chip manufacturers.
South Korea imports significant amounts of fresh potatoes (e.g. 37,125 tonnes in 2015), mostly from Australia and the United States. Most of the imported fresh potatoes are processed in South Korea to Potato Chips.
In 2015 South Korea also imported also over 100.000 tonnes of prepared potato products, mostly from the United States. In 2015 Canada became the second largest source for potato products, likely in part driven by the free trade agreement between Canada and South Korea (CKFTA) that was concluded in March 2014.
