Jeju Citrus Preferred Even If 30% Pricier, Consumers Choose Local Over US Mandarins
Creatrip Team
6 months ago
A recent consumer test by the Jeju Agricultural Research Center found metropolitan shoppers overwhelmingly prefer Jeju-grown citrus (two varieties: Dalkomi and Redhyang) to imported US mandarin (clementine). After tastings, 97.6% said they would repurchase Jeju citrus versus just 2.4% for the US fruit. Nearly 90% view Jeju citrus as a premium fruit; top competitive advantages cited were taste and aroma, freshness, and safety. Consumers indicated willingness to pay about 30% more per kilogram for Jeju citrus (about 13,130 won vs. 10,200 won for US mandarins). With US mandarin tariffs removed this year, Jeju plans stronger marketing and dedicated retail channels during the January–April harvest to protect local producers and promote high-quality citrus. (Redhyang and Dalkomi are Jeju citrus varieties)
