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. The United States was the sixth largest seafood exporter to Korea in 2023, with 3.4 percent of the market. Korean consumers generally view U.S. fishery products as high-quality, but U.S. supply of species favored by Korean consumers has declined in recent years and regional competitors are price competitive.

FAS/Seoul forecasts Korea’s 2025 milk production to decrease to 1.92 million tons. Korean milk production continues to decline in line with industry contraction and demographic-driven consumption declines. FAS/Seoul forecasts 2025 cheese imports to increase to 150,000 tons as Korean demand for cheese continues a steady upward trend and consumers become increasingly interested in dairy products as a protein source. FAS/Seoul forecasts 2025 nonfat dry milk consumption to remain stable at 20,000 tons.

Korea was the 5th largest country importer of the U.S. agricultural and related products in 2023. The United States is the leading supplier of imported consumer-oriented agricultural products for Korean retail industry, shipping $4.9 billion in 2023. The outlook for U.S. products in the Korean retail industry is excellent for a wide range of products, including pork, dairy, processed fruit, fruit and vegetable juice, food preparations under HS2106, non-alcoholic beverage, and wine.

Korea’s pet food market has been growing strongly. But, while imported products have traditionally dominated the market, imports declined in 2023 for the first time in over a decade. Local competition likely contributed to the decline in imports. In 2023, the United States was the second largest supplier for imported dog and cat food, with 15.96 and 18.12 percent by of the market by value and volume, respectively. As the pet humanization trend continues, demand for premium products such as pet food with high-quality ingredients will grow further.

As the fifth largest country export market for the United States, Korea provides a promising market for U.S. agricultural products. In 2023, Korea imported about $47 billion agricultural & related products from all over the world and the U.S. supplied a fifth of it, ranking number one. Other key suppliers were China, Australia, Brazil, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Korea's overall agricultural imports are forecast to have limited growth this year partly due to decreased demand from local retail and food service industries, weakened Korean currency against the U.S. dollar, and global inflation of food prices over the last couple of years. However, U.S. food and agricultural products will continue to be competitive in this market in the long run considering extended consumer interests in quality, safety, and sustainability.