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The Korean government revised its marketing year (MY) 2024/25 rice production estimate down to reflect a 2-percent yield reduction from extreme heat, untimely rains, and pest damage.

Chocolate is a popular product in the Korean market, with 2023 sales reaching $578 million and imports of chocolate totaling $356 million.

Korean imports of cheese products continue to grow, seeing a five percent compound annual growth rate over the last five years. Mozzarella is the most imported cheese product and the United States is the leading supplier of cheese to Korea.

Korea’s beer imports reached $218 million in 2023, up 11.8 percent from $195 million in 2022, but still 30 percent down from the record high of $310 million in 2018. Although Korea’s beer imports have been decreasing since the pandemic, the United States increased exports of beer to Korea in 2023, reaching $17.9 million, up 43% from $12.5 million in 2022.

Despite the challenging economic environment, Korea’s wine imports in 2017 totaled a record high $210 million, up 10 percent from 2016.

In MY 2015/16, 37 percent of the total South Korean edible oil supply was palm oil, 35 percent was soybean oil, 9 percent was rapeseed oil and 20 percent was an assortment of other oils.

The imported beer market in South Korea continues robust growth due to strong consumer demand for products of diversified taste and higher quality.

Korea continues to meet its mandatory import volume of 408,700 metric tons (MT) from Most Favored Nation (MFN) countries, with purchases of 138,610 MT (milled) from the United States in CY 2017.

On December 26, 2017, Korea issued an updated list of adjustment tariffs and voluntary tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for certain agricultural, forestry and fishery products....