Browse Data and Analysis

Korean seafood imports totaled $5.93 billion in 2023, down 8.3 percent from 2022. Korean 2023 seafood imports from the United States totaled $203 million, a decrease of 11.4 percent year-to-year.

Taiwan's overall seafood imports declined to US$1.9 billion in 2023, down 11 percent from 2022. Seafood exports from the United States, however, grew by 40 percent, and amounted to nearly US$45 million. Among the top ten foreign suppliers, the United States is the only one that expanded exports.

Effective January 1, 2024, Taiwan reduced the number of U.S. seafood products eligible for export to Taiwan. The change reduces the number of eligible seafood HS codes from 65 to 55.

Ample opportunities exist for U.S. agricultural exports to South Korea. Highlighted in the chart above, U.S. agricultural product exports were a record $9.5 billion in 2022, up 2 percent from 2021. South Korea is the sixth largest export market for the United States, thanks in part to a successful free trade agreement (KORUS) between the two countries and a robust demand for high-quality U.S. food products.

Korean seafood imports totaled $6.47 billion in 2022, up 12.7 percent from the year before. Seafood for human consumption imported from the United States to Korea in 2022 reached $229 million, an increase of 5.6 percent year-to-year. The United...

Taiwan’s overall seafood imports reached US$2.1 billion in 2022, up 20 percent from 2021, with imports from the United States decreasing slightly to US$32 million.

Korean seafood imports totaled $5.74 billion in 2021, up 9 percent from 2020, with imports from the United States increasing slightly to $217 million. The United States remains the fifth largest seafood exporter to Korea with a 3.8 percent market share.

The lobster market in Korea was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In 2021, Korean lobster imports totaled 413.6 metric tons. The United States was the second largest supplier, holding a 7.7 percent market share by volume. Canada is the largest supplier.

The outlook for U.S. products in the Korean retail industry is excellent for a wide range of products.

While Korean seafood imports declined in 2020, the United States remains the country's fifth-largest seafood supplier with a 4.1 percent market share.

Taiwan is the United States' eighth-largest export market for food and agricultural products and 18th largest market for seafood products, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

The lobster market has grown since Korea signed FTAs with the United States in 2012 and Canada in 2015. Korean lobster imports totaled 5,254 metric tons in 2019.