임산물과 식품산업의 연계 강화 방안: 단기소득임산물 중심으로

Abstract

건강식품으로 알려진 임산물은 소득의 증가와 함께 소비가 늘어가기 마련이다. 산이라는 친환경 이미지가 함께 어우러지면서 소비를 원하는 사람들은 더욱 늘어날 것으로 예상된다. 그러나 우리가 주변에서 흔히 접할 수 있는 임산물은 생산된 형태 그대로 이거나 단순한 가공만 거친 것들이 대부분이다. 이러한 제품으로는 다양한 입맛을 가진 소비자들에게 다가가는데 분명히 한계가 있다. 소비자들의 욕구를 충족시켜 임산물의 소비를 늘리는 것은 생산자들의 소득 증대와 직결 된다. 아울러 임산물의 소비촉진은 시장개방, 가격하락 등으로 인해 위축되고 축소된 임업의 발전을 위해서도 매우 중요한 방안이라 할 수 있다. 이에 산림청과 농림수산식품부는 임산물의 소비확대를 위해 가공품 생산 증대방안 마련에 최선을 다하고 있다. 그러나 기반시설이 제대로 갖추어지지 않은 현실적인 어려움을 감안하면 결코 쉬운 일이 아닐 것으로 예상된다 임산물의 가공률은 매우 저조하며 대부분 원료상태 또는 매우 간단한 가공을 거쳐 유통되고 있는 실정이다. 또한 임산물 가공실태에 대한 기본적인 통계조차 집계되지 않고 있다. 이러한 이유는 상품개발을 위한 연구지원 부족, 식품산업화를 위한 정책지원 부족 등 여러 가지에서 원인을 찾을 수가 있을 것이다. 그러므로 현 시점에서는 가공사업의 실태를 점검하고 소비자의 소비경향을 파악하여 임산업의 활성화 방안을 식품산업과의 연계에서 찾는 연구가 필요하다. 이 보고서는 보다 많은 임산물이 가공과정을 거쳐 소비자들에게 공급될 수 있는 종합적인 방안을 제시하기 위해 작성되었다.

This study suggests various schemes to make more forest products be processed, and this will result in an increase in the consumption of forest products. Survey research is the main method of this study. Survey of manufacturers reveals that the level of processing technology for forest products is low. The ratio of raw material cost of forest products is lower than that of agricultural products, because many forest product manufacturers produce feedstock by themselves. The larger the amount of manufacture gets, however, the lower the ratio of self-production becomes. The most difficult problem in procuring feedstock is a lack of funds. Sales cost ratio is relatively high. This means that sales network is not fully established yet. Production technology is usually developed by manufacturers, and this limits an increase in the value of final products. Manufacturers sell their products through electronic or wholesale marketplaces rather than discount stores, which are consumers' favorite places to buy processed forest products. Many manufacturers do not have detailed information about government’s support undertakings. The result of consumer survey verifies that consumption of processed forest products will increase through growing income and interest in health. Especially walnuts, ginkgo nuts, and wild vegetables are at the top of the list of products that consumers want to see them processed. Consumers obtain information about processed forest products by words of mouth. This method is not effective in advertising good points of forest products. Convenience is the most important factor in deciding purchase method. Consequently, as mentioned above, big discount stores are their favorite marketplace to buy processed foodstuffs from the forest. Most consumers check the country of origin when they buy processed forest foodstuffs. And they believe that domestic products are better than imports in quality. The price is high enough to prevent consumers from purchasing domestic products, however. Many of government's support undertakings are focused on establishing facilities. Funds for technology development and buying feedstock, which are strongly wanted by manufacturers, are relatively small. Each government undertaking is done by itself. It is hard to verify interactions among the undertakings, which means that they are not organized well. Many undertakings related to food processing are focused on distribution rather than processing. According to research results, the program for strengthening the linkage between forestry and food industry can be summarized as follows. First, small-size food processing companies had better merge into a big company to enhance bargaining power and management effectiveness. Second, to increase the level of processing technology, it is recommended that bases of processing facilities be built in feedstock production areas and to strengthen manufacturing functions of existing distribution facilities be strengthened. Third, it is required to build organized systems in support of processing ventures, from such aspects as technology development, public relations, and distribution to government policy. This will be a foundation of the forest products processing industry. Finally, we should devote great care not to abuse the confidence of consumers, since trust between producers and consumers is the most important factor for the success of food industry.