Global Cooperation Helps The Industry

Generally, the greenhouse industry is commonly known as being a part of the horticulture industry. I’m doing my internship at Geremia Farm in Connecticut. The Geremia Farm contributes to the horticulture industry. This farm is equipped lots of automation systems to produce quality plants. This has given me insight into the U.S. greenhouse industry. The industries in the U.S. and South Korea are very different.

The Geographic Environment

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The U.S. comprises a lot of land. It is about 98 times larger than Korea. You need four hours to drive across the Korea by car. Think about how long this would take in the U.S. In many parts of the U.S., people are able to have a large garden or yard. People in the U.S. need more plants for decorating their gardens than those who live in Korea. Koreans don’t have a lot of space for adornment. Therefore, they want a few small plants, not a large amount of bigger ones.

This helps explain the situation in the Korean horticulture industry. Korea is trying to overcome the geographical trouble, and the government has invested in genetic modification technology and research. For example, some plants have potato root and tomato stems, and the other species that are grown include cabbage stems and radish root. As for flowers, Korea invests more money in cut flowers. Orchids are also produced.

Economic And Societal Factors

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When you want to buy flowers in the U.S., you can do so easily. The U.S. plant market is made up of grocery stores, supermarkets and specialized plant markets. These places lead to more plant purchases. In contrast, Korea doesn’t have enough of a market for high-consumption plants. The demand for these plants is also very low. All markets are governed by the law of supply and demand. Consequentially, the greenhouse industry in Korea hopes to sell more plants like in the plant market here. Even if the number of plant consumers grows in Korea, many companies will invest more money in order to produce higher-quality products. This will have a positive impact on the greenhouse industry.

The U.S. greenhouse industry does business, production, distribution, sales and management all at a time like one huge company. In Korea, most of the farms are a small unit. If all the activities were carried out on a farm, more fresh vegetables and flowers could be passed on to the consumer. South Korea needs to create a type of company or corporation farming, and the local government’s cooperation would be necessary. A generous investment from the government would also need to be made consistently. Then, Korea, like the U.S., may have the power to be able to compete with the rest of the world with its greenhouse business.

Global Warming + Climatic Change = New Species

Nowadays, global warming has intensified all over the world. Glaciers are melting in the Arctic. The heat has persisted, and the winter snows are becoming less frequent. Nevertheless, Korea has four distinct seasons. A plant grows in tropical and subtropical climates with some adaptability in the fall. Accordingly, the U.S. can use its technology to create various breeds to accommodate those climates and seasons. In the recently years, the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement was established on March 15, 2012. Between the two countries, we can share new technology and the most advanced technology.

 

 

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