Browse Data and Analysis

This report outlines specific requirements for food and agricultural product imports into the Republic of South Korea. Updates to the 2021 FAIRS Report are included in sections I, II, III, IV, V, VII, VIII, IX and Appendix II.

In MY 2021/22, Korea's total citrus production is expected to drop by about 7 percent, with consumption falling by 5 percent.

In the current marketing year running from July 2021 to June 2022, Korea’s fresh apple production and consumption are projected to rise by 13 percent after several years of gradual decline.

On November 15, 2021, Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) released a revised 2021 rice production estimate of 3.882 million metric tons (MMT), up an additional 1.6 percentage points from the initial rice production estimate in early September and up 10.7 percent from the previous year.

Korea is in the process of revising its existing Living Modified Organism (LMO) Act to cover products of innovative biotechnologies, including genome edited products.

FY2021 agricultural exports reach record levels.

This report is an October 2021 update to the FAS Seoul Grain and Feed Annual released on March 31 and the Grain and Feed Update from June 27.

Korea’s 2021/22 pear production is projected to surge by nearly 40 percent, driven mostly by increased yields. Korean pear consumption is expected rise by a similar level. Fresh U.S. (and other origin) pear imports are not allowed under Korea’s existing phytosanitary regulations.

In 2021 the U.S. Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Seoul, Korea partnered with Gallup Korea to survey Korean consumers views on imported and domestic food.

South Korea managed the COVID-19 pandemic relatively well, and consumer spending on food remained strong during the pandemic due to increased home eating.

Domestic milk production is forecast to stay steady at just over 2 million tons in 2022. 2021 milk production is projected to drop to 2.03 million tons after reaching 2.88 million tons in 2020.

The long-term outlook for South Korea’s Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional (HRI) sector is positive, with strong growth up until the COVID-19 pandemic.