Geochang Apples, Having Endured Heatwave and Drought, Hit Market: Top Price Reaches 300,000 Won per 20kg Box

Bright red Geochang apples, which ripened successfully despite this summer's intense heatwaves and droughts, have hit the market about a month ahead of the Chuseok holiday.

The Geochang Apple Horticultural Cooperatives in Geochang County, South Gyeongsang Province, held the first auction of the season yesterday (August 19) at the Geochang-eup Agricultural Products Distribution Center.

On this day, 700 boxes of the Hongro apple variety, weighing 20kg each, were put up for auction.

They traded at an average of 110,000 won per box, with the highest winning bid soaring up to 300,000 won.

Oh Jong-seok, head of the Geochang Apple Horticultural Cooperatives, said, "I deeply thank the farmers for cultivating high-quality apples amidst more difficult weather conditions than ever before, including spring cold damage, summer heatwaves, and droughts."

Hongro is a variety of apple typically harvested and shipped around the Chuseok holiday.

Surrounded by mountains over 1,000 meters high, such as Duribong, Gibaeksan, Boroksan, and Deokyusan, Geochang County is renowned for producing Hongro apples due to its large daily temperature range.

(Photo provided by Geochang County, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.