<Anchor>
Chinese garlic imported into Korea earlier this year has not sprouted and has not rotted for over a year since it was harvested.
Garlic growers have urged the government to investigate what was done in China.
TBC reporter Seo Eun-jin covered it.
<Reporter>
This is fresh garlic from China, imported by the government at lower tariffs and distributed in Korea earlier this year.
Harvested in June of last year, there is a phrase 'There is a risk of sprouting or deterioration if exposed to room temperature for a long time'.
However, even after one year of harvest, it has been kept at room temperature and there is no change.
When I peeled the garlic, there are growth points, but there is no sign of sprouting and there is no sign of decay.
The Korean Garlic Federation is the first to see garlic like this and urges the government to investigate how it was treated in China and inform the public.
[Choi Sang-eun/Chairman of the Korea Garlic Federation: If you see that a sprout does not sprout even after a year has passed, it is because of some chemical treatment...
.]
The bigger problem is that these fresh Chinese garlic are used as seeds, not for food.
In some farms, if the price of garlic rises, they sell the garlic they have stored as seed garlic, and buy cheap Chinese garlic for planting.
If this happens, not only will the price plummet due to an oversupply of garlic, but also garlic from China of unknown quality will be planted, destroying the base for garlic production.
Garlic producers and the National Seed Resources are even running campaigns around the main production areas, but there is no way to crack down unless farmers themselves protect our seeds.
[Kim Ki-hoon / Director of the National Seed Resources: If a dispute arises due to illegal seeds (seeds), it is difficult to compensate for the damage.
If possible, do not use illegal Jonggu...
.]
In fact, damage to germination and poor growth has been occurring due to the use of seed garlic that has not been reported as a seed.