Browse Data and Analysis

E-commerce is one of the largest retail channels and an essential component of the overall consumer market in Korea. Food related online sales in 2023 including food, agricultural products, and food delivery services was once again the largest category, occupying about 30 percent of the total online sales for three consecutive years.

Korea’s marketing year (MY) 2024/25 citrus production is forecast down 2.6 percent to 565,000 MT, a 10-year low, on gradually declining acreage and adverse weather conditions. Jeju Island, where nearly all Korean citrus is grown, experienced a prolonged summer heat wave lasting into mid-September, followed by excessive fall rain, which caused fruit cracking and rot.

Korea depends heavily on imports to meet the demand for dried fruits, though overall demand has seen a slight decrease over the last five years. In 2023, the United States held roughly 53% of the market share for imported dried fruit.

In 2022 (the latest official data available), South Korea's sales in the HRI food service sector reached 177.12 trillion KRW (137.1 billion USD), a 17.48 percent increase from 2021, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, monthly per capita spending on the HRI food service rose to 179,648 KRW (139.1 USD), up 10.66 percent from 2022 and 30.65 percent from 2021.

South Korea’s imports of American food and agricultural products in 2017 through September totaled $6.3 billion, up 25 percent from the same period of the previous year.

U.S. farm and food exports climbed eight percent in FY 2017, reaching the third-highest level on record.

Rice ending stocks are projected to decrease to 1.7 million metric tons (MMT) and 1.2 MMT in marketing year (MY) 2016/17 and MY 2017/18 respectively, as the Korean government has begun allowing....

Although planted area for pears continues to decline in a trend that has continued since the year 2000, expected increased yields will result in an increase in pear production....