Browse Data and Analysis

The United States is the leading supplier of imported consumer-oriented agricultural products to the Korean retail industry, shipping a record $6.2 billion in 2021. The outlook for U.S. products in the Korean retail industry is excellent for a wide range of products, including beef, pork, processed meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, dairy products, juices and soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, condiments and sauces, processed organic foods, coffee, bakery products, snacks and confectioneries.

The FAS/Seoul June 2022 Grain and Feed update covers changes to the Korean rice situation since the March 2022 Grain and Feed Annual report. MY 2022/23 rice production will likely decline slightly (1.4 percent) from the previous estimate due to government efforts to avoid overproduction, while consumption and imports are projected to remain unchanged from FAS/Seoul’s initial forecast.

A Tableau visualization comparing exports to the current top U.S. agricultural export markets since 1989.

U.S. agricultural and related product exports to South Korea exceeded nine billion dollars in 2018, making it our fifth largest agricultural export market.

Korea’s total citrus production for Marketing Year (MY) 2019/20 (October – September) is projected to increase six percent to 645,000 metric tons (MT) from 607,638 MT in MY 2018/19.

On November 12, 2019, Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) released its revised 2019 rice production estimate of 3.744 million metric tons (MMT), down 1 percent from the initial rice production estimate....

In Marketing Year (MY) 2019/20 (July – June), Korea’s fresh apple production is projected to increase 7 percent to 508,000 metric tons (MT), mainly due to favorable weather during the flowering....

In marketing year 2019/20, Korea’s pear production is projected to increase by 3.4 percent to 210,000 metric tons due to increased yield as a result of better weather conditions....

For Marketing Year (MY) 2019/20, FAS/Seoul has increased the projection for corn imports to 10.8 MMT.

South Korea’s Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional (HRI) food service sector continues to grow as consumers spend more on dining out and look for more convenience in their busy lives.

In Marketing Year (MY) 2020 (January – December), Korea’s chicken production is projected to increase about 1.6 percent to 957,000 metric tons (MT) compared to MY 2019.

Korea will continue to expand its cattle inventories and consume more domestic and imported beef during the remainder of 2019 and into 2020.