The Samjiyon Blueberry Drink Factory (Rodong Sinmun webpage)

North Korea is importing large quantities of Chinese blueberries to fulfill the ruling party’s directive to produce fruit-based alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages.

Speaking anonymously, a source in Ryanggang province recently told The Daily NK that large amounts of blueberries were being imported through customs in Hyesan and transported to blueberry production facilities in the province.

Blueberries are a prized crop from the Mount Paektu region (known as Mount Changbai in China) and, in North Korea, they are primarily cultivated in Hyesan. Each August and September, various organizations, companies, and neighborhood watch units are mobilized for the harvest, with most of the yield exported to China.

However, after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un conducted an inspection in Samjiyon last month, the authorities ordered increased output from blueberry product factories. North Korean supplies of blueberries have been running low, forcing companies to begin importing blueberries from China, instead of exporting them as usual.

“(Kim) called for the production of large amounts of goods using local delicacies such as blueberries in order to improve the dining experience for tourists. After that, the Cabinet ordered blueberry factories to increase their output,” the source said.

As part of the same orders, factories were told to complete their quarterly production quota within two months instead of three. But since that could not reasonably be achieved with Ryanggang province’s blueberry crop, factories have been scrambling to import blueberries from China.

Factories face trouble making profits

The problem is that Chinese blueberries are more expensive, leaving little profit margin for factories forced to use them in production.

North Korea used to receive 13 Chinese yuan ($1.80) per kilogram for exporting blueberries to China, but it is now paying 28 yuan ($3.90) to import blueberries from the country.

“Since the raw materials are so expensive, the price of the processed goods will have to be more than doubled to make a profit,” the source told The Daily NK. “Manufacturing processed goods with expensive Chinese ingredients is unreasonable for several reasons, but we have to import the blueberries so that we can carry out Kim’s instructions.”

The source further explained that it is even harder for blueberry product factories to turn a profit because state institutions in North Korea buy up large amounts of blueberry liquor at the government’s low price to distribute to officials on major state holidays.

“Party organizations will pack up blueberry products on the cheap for the Day of the Foundation of the Republic, on Sept. 9, and Party Foundation Day, on Oct. 10, which keeps factories from profiting no matter how much they produce,” he said, adding: “Factory managers realize the stupidity of it all, but they still have to slave away at production to carry out their orders.”

Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.

Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.

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