Canned peaches are a very interesting product when exporting to South Korea, as they are very popular with the Korean public and are widely consumed, but there is virtually no domestic production and the demand is covered with imports. This was shown in a canned peach market research carried out by the Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Greek Embassy in Seoul. 

As reported in the survey, Greeces exports were remarkable up to 2005-2007, but then suffered pressure from China and Thailand in the low-end market and from South Africa (mainly) and Chile in the high end one (the South American country even signed a Free Trade Agreement with Korea).

Greek exports were virtually nil in 2010, but the entry into force of the EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement in July 2011 fully reversed this trend, as it brought the gradual abolition of the 50% import duty in eight equal stages. The import duty was ultimately zero in the current year. 

By 2015, the value of Greek exports reached a new record high and has continued to grow at a rapid pace, accounting for 30% of all Korean imports.

"It is worth mentioning that in the first seven months of 2018, Greek exports have grown by another 65.3%, gaining 37.8% of the market share, and that Greece now ranks first in the list of South Korean suppliers," said the report.

China has been recording a steady decline, since it cannot compete with Greece either in terms of quality or price, as it still has to pay the 50% import duty. 

At the same time, South Africa and Chile have also recorded significant drops, being unable to provide the quantities demanded by the Korean market, and supplying poor quality. Meanwhile, Thailand has also started to see a downward trend.

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