Background of Research
The production volume of the horticulture and special crop industry was 15.3 trillion won in 2010, accounting for 36.6% of the total production volume of agriculture, and this means that it is an important industry. Because the horticulture and special crop industry is a high-value-added industry, it has to retain the role of an agricultural growth engine. Therefore, this study aims to analyze its production, management and delivery, features of the change in consumption structure, and factors of product differentiation in the horticulture industry, and to suggest strategies and policies for each categorized type so that the horticulture industry can continue to be a growth engine.

Method of Research
Concentration ratio and the coefficient of local specialization for main production regions in 2000, 2005 and 2010 were calculated to analyze the change of competitiveness and features in the main production areas. A questionnaire was used for 27 distribution centers in production areas and local experts to examine post-harvest management, joint account and bottlenecks of local production organizations. A hedonic price model based on the transaction data of two major wholesale corporations in the period of 2009∼2011 was used to assess the market values for each attribute of apples and tomatoes. A questionnaire survey was also conducted on 650 households which were chosen by a stratified sampling method to identify the behavior and preference structure of vegetable and fruit purchases. A logit model and an ordered probit model were used to analyze the awareness and payment intentions for each type of vegetable and fruit. The product-market matrix by the BCG (Boston Consulting Group) was used to embody the strategy for developing the horticulture industry.

Research Results and Implications
The horticulture industry is a great growth engine which contributes to agricultural growth. However, its recent growth rate is dropping, and the growth trends are differentiated across items or grades in the horticulture industry. Although the market scale of new western vegetables or new varieties of fruits or fruit vegetables is not so great yet, their growth potential is great. The secondary varieties of fruit vegetables or fruits have a greater market scale and a high growth potential. The market of the vegetables for spices grown outdoors and the main breed of fruits has been saturated to result in stagnant growth or decline.
Because the area for growing horticulture crops has increased and the number of farmers has decreased, the scale of cultivation per farmer has gradually increased. The protected facility area has gradually increased and the glass greenhouse for growing vegetables has continued to increase in particular. Production has concentrated on main production areas, and competitiveness of production areas has been enhanced in areas for growing relevant varieties of increasing demand or new suitable areas resulting from climate change. In particular, the number of full-time farmers has decreased mainly for vegetables which are grown outdoors. For the real management expenses of horticulture farmers during the period of 2000∼2011, the expenses for fertilizers, labor costs, lighting and heating for farming have increased annually by 2∼3%, and real income has decreased annually by 1∼5%.
The organizations for selling products in their production sites have gradually grown and joint sale has also increased. Post-harvest management was shown to be difficult in terms of grading and storage quality. It is considered that this is because there is a lack of specialized knowledge and management know-how on the quality difference resulting from production method rather than the facility itself.
The market value of horticulture products was analyzed to be highly different depending on product attributes such as variety, production area, joint sale, type of authentication, and size. The consumer survey revealed that important consumption factors of fruits are taste, freshness and safety, and those of vegetables are freshness and safety, but satisfaction therewith was not great. Emphasis was laid on quality assurance and uniform quality, of which the satisfaction was not great. The criteria for deciding quality depend on appearance, but not greatly on the standard grades. Although the awareness of GAP-authorized fruits and vegetables was not high at approximately 45%, the ratio of consumers who are willing to pay more to buy them is higher than other authorized products.
In order for the horticulture industry to be developed as a sustainable engine of growth, it needs to aim for becoming a market-leading industry that quickly responds to diversified and changing consumer preferences. The government policy should be in the direction of arousing interest in diversified varieties and items, and one that considers mid- and long-term demand and supply, and further creates markets and enhances ‘private investment’ to encourage the private sector’s investment.
The strategy for developing the horticulture industry depends on the type of items and market. The items can be divided into 4 types: "New," "Star," "Cash-cow" and "Dog" depending on growth rate (attraction of the market), market scale and share (competitiveness). The ‘diversification strategy’ is needed for developing the type New, the ‘product development strategy’ for the type Star, and the ‘market penetration strategy’ for holding the market scale for the type Cash-cow for which the market is saturated.
In order to develop New and Cash-cow as growth engines, it is necessary that the government reinforces technology development and dissemination, provides market information and encourages consumption, rather than promoting support policies for each item. To this end, it is necessary to build a support system to correctly reflect the market and changes of demand. In the short term, it is necessary to expand the government and public R&D budget for private sector’s participation and entrust the information support project to a government-funded research institute for implementation based on “platform” method. Also, a self-funding plan should be made by producer organizations.

Researchers: Yong-Sun Lee, Seung-Yong Gouk, Seong-woo Kim, Dae-Seok Seo, Jong-Jin Kim, You-Seon Shin, Ho-Young Rho, Su-Jeong Noh
Research Period: 2012. 1～2012. 12
E-mail address: yslee@krei.re.kr