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South Korea is the fifth largest U.S. market for
agricultural products. This is the size of Indiana with 46 million people. South
Korea is normally a $3-4 billion market for U.S. agricultural, fishery and forestry
products. In rough terms, this market breaks out to about 30 percent bulk commodities,
25 percent intermediate goods, 35 percent for high value products.
Despite the current economic difficulties, the
fact that Korea is 60-70 percent directly or indirectly dependent on food imports
makes for an excellent outlook for many food and beverage exports. This is especially
true for consumer-ready products which have enjoyed rapid double-digit growth
through most of the 1990's. Prospects are especially good for cake mixes, coffee,
frozen fruits and vegetables, wines, meat, confectionery and convenience foods.
Recent trends and events contributing to the expected expansion are:
 A general globalization
and Westernization of tastes.
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The high percentage
of younger consumers with a growing taste for imported foods |
An increasing
number of working women and two income families who demand more
convenience foods |
The decline
in per capita consumption of rice and the moving away from rice-based foods to wheat, corn, meat, and potato-based foods |
The spread
of conventional ovens, microwaves, and refrigerators
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For more detailed information about the Korean
market see the Exporter Guide 2007.
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