Study on gathering and production structure of pine nuts in Korea - Centering on Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do and Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon-do

In the results of survey against households engaging in gathering and producing pine nuts in Gapyeonggun, Gyeonggido and Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon-do, the representative pine nuts producing region in Korea, it was found that average household managing land were relatively smaller as 1.5 ha and 0.9 ha in Gapyeong-gun and Hongcheon-gun. Among 20 households having forest in Gapyeong-gun, only 3 households conducted thinning practice during the last 5 years and any positive forest management such as forest practice for increase of pine nuts production and silviculture and crown shape control facilitating gathering of pine nuts was not shown. However, although the ration of income from pine nuts against the whole gross income took relatively large ratio as 46% and 45% in Gapyeong-gun and Hongcheon-gun, respectively, only 4 household of Gapyeong-gun and 2 households of Hongcheon-gun had a plan for expansion. Therefore, it was concluded that in this depressed situation of Korean forest management, review of various ' measures such as support of cold storage for public use to prevent price drop in flood shipment and the end of gathering and prepare price rise in the alternate year, support of hulling machines for public use to save the cost for hulling, installation and expansion of transport way for pine nuts, and purchase for price stabilization of pine nuts would be required to make the pine nuts gathering and producing activity expanded as a stable income source of rural and mountain households.