The chile pepper is one of major agricultural produce, accounting for about 5% of Korea's total agricultural production, and the export of the chile pepper and its processed products has been on the constant rise since the 1990s. In order for the export of these products to further increase, ways to directly advance into the main markets, other than through Korean markets or local agencies, should be developed. This study examined and analyzed the current status and consumer trends, focused on Korea's main consumers, including Japan, the U.S. and Hungary, and provided suggestions for improvements in product development and relevant policies.
The U.S. depends on the foreign providers for 80~85% of its chile pepper consumption, and its consumption has been increased on an annual basis. The processed foods using the chile pepper include a diverse of sauces and spices, and comparatively spicy taste between 2000~7000 SHU is preferred in the U.S.
A conjoint analysis, conducted to American consumers, shows that Americans consider taste the most (27.49%) when choosing chile pepper powder products, followed by packaging unit (25.00%), price (24.85%), safety certification (15.15%), and color (1.50%). Americans proved to prefer ones with taste less spicy than hot sauces, the packaging unit of 1kg, the price of $0.5 per 50g, the organic certification, and the color higher than ASTA 100.
The U.S. is very familiar to the chile pepper or its processed foods, thanks to its geographical position bordering with Mexico and its cultural environment where a diverse of races are mixed together. Nevertheless, the export price of Korean chile pepper is 16,000 won per kg, far higher than Chinese counterpart of 6,000 won, which provides an obstacle to Korea’s export. One measure that can be considered to address this low price competitiveness is to export Korean chile pepper powder mixed with Chinese one in a proper ratio. The mixed product proved to sell at 7,000~10,000 won, with higher price competitiveness and better quality than the Chinese one.
Over 70% of Japanese import of chile pepper products depended on China in 2009, and its reliance on Korea is being gradually increased from 6.31% in 2007 to 9.23% in 2009.
A conjoint analysis, conducted to Japanese consumers, show that Japanese consider price the most(24.91%) when choosing chile pepper powder products, followed by packaging unit(23.10%), safety certification(20.23%), taste(19.99%) and color(11.77%). Japanese are believed to prefer one with the price of 40 yen per 50g, the packaging unit of 50g, the import standards set by the Japanese government, the taste spicier than sizimi(Japanese chile pepper powder), and the color of ASTA 80.
Due to Korea’s cultural wave in Asia and Japanese concern about Chinese foods’ safety, Korea’s export of the chile pepper powder and its processed foods gets the upper hand. In addition, Japan gradually uses more Korean chile pepper powder in their processed foods, which requires more aggressive marketing. It should be highlighted to the Japanese consumers that Korean chile pepper powder has better quality than Chinese counterpart although Korean one is 3,500 yen per kg and Chinese one is 1,150 yen per kg. The Japanese government applies ’Positive List’ with more strict standards of residue to imported agricultural products while pesticide is used at farmers’ discretion in Korea, which hinders Korea’s export. In terms of this, aggressive counterplans including invitation of retired Japanese experts should be introduced.
Hungary, one of the main chile pepper producers in Europe, exports 35,000 ton, about 60% of its annual production of 60,000 ton, to 20 nations in the world. In 2009, Hungary’s import of the chile pepper decreased by 33% compared to the previous year. In particular, the import from Netherlands and China decreased while the import from Serbia and Poland dramatically increased.
Hungarians use the chile pepper in most of their foods including Goulach, and put various degrees of the chile pepper powder in each dish. In a sensory test in Korean chile pepper powder, which was conducted in Hungary, Korean chile pepper powder was evaluated to have more unique and better flavor than Chinese one, less spicy taste than expected, about 3,000 of SHU meeting importers’ requirements, and proper color.
In order to successfully export Korean chile pepper to Hungary, it is urgent to test its samples, and then reach an agreement on specific terms and conditions with importers. Also, experts specialized in import/export should play a key role in this process.