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Every year, up to nearly 20% of mandarins have been discarded or sold at rock-bottom prices simply because of their small size. However, since last year, shipping standards have been relaxed, allowing consumers to enjoy small mandarins at affordable prices.

Reporter Hong Yeongjae has the story.

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Yellow-ripened mandarins hang heavily from every tree.

Stems are snipped with scissors and placed into baskets.

A comparison of freshly harvested mandarins shows they vary in size.

Quite a few small mandarins fit right into the palm of a hand.

Until now, it was difficult to sell these small mandarins at a fair price.

Under Jeju Island ordinances, mandarins with a horizontal diameter of less than 49mm were restricted from commercial shipment in principle.

In the past, these small mandarins with a horizontal diameter of 49mm or less were thrown away or used to make fruit juice.

As these small mandarins accounted for 10% to 20% of the total harvest, they were always a headache for farming households.

[Oh Chi-hyo / Mandarin Farmer: They have the same taste and the same sugar content, but just because they were small, they were excluded even though they were the same oranges, so farms had a really hard time.]

However, at the end of last year, Jeju Island eased its mandarin shipping standards.

Mandarins with a horizontal diameter between 45mm and 49mm and a sugar content of 10 Brix or higher can now be distributed.

[Go Seung-ju / Jeju Wimi Agricultural Cooperative Manager: We are supplying them at about half price. We can ship delicious mandarins to consumers at a reasonable price, and it plays an important role in increasing farm incomes.]

The small mandarins, having gone through sorting processes, have also started appearing on shelves at major supermarkets.

A 1.5kg bag is priced about 40% cheaper than regular products.

Consumer response is also positive.

[Kim Eun-ju / Yangcheon-gu, Seoul: Since I have a child, I actually prefer smaller sizes over large ones, so I really like this size. It's quite affordable, so it catches my eye and I think I'll buy it often.]

Apples and sweet persimmons bundled only by small sizes are also gaining popularity at affordable prices, transforming into cost-effective products that boost farm revenues while easing the burden on consumers' grocery carts.

(Video by Lim Woo-sik | Video Editing by Lee Sang-min)