A Study on the Effects of Illegally Distributed Ginseng Products on Consumption

불법·부정 인삼 유통이 소비에 미치는 영향

Today, producers of ginseng spray prohibited fertilizers or use excessive amount of fertilizers whereas distributers either claim that they are selling domestic ginseng when in fact they are selling imported ginseng, cheat on the age or weight of ginseng, or mix domestic and imported ginseng. In terms of quality in comparison with foreign ginseng, 90% of the people surveyed responded that domestic ginseng is more efficacious. When asked whether they would purchase foreign ginseng products when they become available in the market, only one of the respondents responded that he or she would purchase foreign ginseng whereas 50 respondents or 81% of the total surveyed responded that they wouldn't purchase foreign ginseng. About half of the respondents answered that when Chinese red ginseng, ginseng, or wild ginseng products cultivated with harmful fertilizers become available in the market, they would either reconsider purchasing ginseng products or stop purchasing ginseng products all together. In order to develop the ginseng industry 20 respondents (25%) chose the establishment of the standards, 33 respondents (42%) chose marking the place of origin, 15 respondents (19%) quality improvement, 7 respondents (9%) research on the efficacy, and 4 respondents (5%) said improvement on the storage methods as the important factors of the ginseng industry. Considering the fact that 77% of the respondents selected either the standardization or marking of the place of origin, the consumers seem to be demanding reliability in the distribution of ginseng products. Therefore, those people who work in the industry such as the producers, distributors and others should have a sense of mission to develop ginseng, which is a gift from God, and do their best to produce and distribute ginseng products.