Korea relies heavily on imports to fulfill its food and agricultural needs. As a result, the Korean food processing industry offers an outstanding opportunity for imported agricultural products for processing use from basic commodities such as corn and wheat to intermediate ingredients such as whey powder and fruit juice concentrates to food additives...

In 2017, domestic raw milk production totaled 2.06 million MT, down less than 1% from 2016. Since the FMD outbreak in 2010, local raw milk production has overcorrected while at the same time consumption has declined.  The Korean government and local industry continue...

Korean imports of seafood in 2017 totaled $4.98 billion, up 10.7 percent from 2016 due to rising prices and increased imports of white fish and shrimp.  Imports of American seafood increased by 2.3 percent from $227 million.  The United States remained the fifth largest exporter with a market share of 4.7 percent.  U.S. seafood is generally considered...

Strong consumer demand for value, quality, convenience, and diversity generates increased demand for imported agricultural products in the Korean retail sector.  The United States remains the leading supplier of consumer-oriented agricultural products to the Korean retail sector.  Korea’s imports of consumer-oriented agricultural products from the United States amounted to a record $4.3 billion in 2017.

Despite the challenging economic environment, Korea’s wine imports in 2017 totaled a record high $210 million, up 10 percent from 2016.  The United States remained the fourth largest supplier of wine to Korea by shipping $25 million, up 14 percent.  While American wine faces elevated competition against...