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This report analyzes all vegetable oil markets in Korea, whether for food or industrial use, and covers oils derived from soybean, palm, palm kernel, olive, rapeseed/canola, grapeseed, sunflower seed, corn, coconut, sesame, perilla seed (a leafy plant from the mint family), and rice bran.

On December 26, 2023, Korea issued its flexible tariff Adjustment and Tariff Rate Quota list for certain agricultural, forestry and fishery products for calendar year (CY) 2024.

In 2024, political uncertainty will continue to diminish, and GDP will grow between 1.25 and 2.25 percent due to a recovery in consumption. This will bring opportunities for U.S. exporters looking to ship products to Chile. Agricultural GDP grew firmly in the past three years, reaching $28.9 billion in 2023.

In the final month of 2023, Korea finally completed allocating its country specific quota (CSQ) for rice imports totaling 408,000 MT (milled basis) under its 2023 tariff rate quota (TRQ) scheme. However, with most tenders fulfilled in the second half...

On November 14, 2023, Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) released its final estimate of 2023 rice production at 3.7 million metric tons (MMT), up an additional 0.5 percent from the initial rice production estimates released in early October and down 1.6 percent overall from the prior year.

In 2023, the Korean government implemented three rounds of tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for various imported agricultural, livestock, and fishery products, including new TRQs to stabilize food prices.

As the 5th largest country export market for the United States, Korea provides a promising market for U.S. agricultural products. In 2022, Korea imported about $50 billion agricultural and food 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 Thailand.

Chile presents excellent export opportunities for U.S. food and beverage exporters. After record-setting exports in 2021, shipments of U.S. agricultural and related products to Chile reached $1.1 billion in 2022.

Already reeling from high fruit prices, Korean consumers will face another year of expensive, lower-quality apples. Korea’s apple production for marketing year (MY) 2023/24 fell 25 percent year-on-year after orchards suffered a series of adverse weather events in 2023.

In marketing year (MY) 2023/24, Post projects lemon production to grow by 6.7 percent and reach 175,000 metric tons (MT) due to high profits and an increase in area planted.

On December 13, 2023, Chile and the European Union (EU) signed an updated Free Trade Agreement, or Advanced Framework Agreement as it is currently termed. The new agreement expands market access for Chilean products to the European market and grants expansive protections for 216 geographical indications (GIs), including many commonly used names like feta, gruyere, kölsch, and parmesan.

Ample opportunities exist for U.S. agricultural exports to South Korea. Highlighted in the chart above, U.S. agricultural product exports were a record $9.5 billion in 2022, up 2 percent from 2021. South Korea is the sixth largest export market for the United States, thanks in part to a successful free trade agreement (KORUS) between the two countries and a robust demand for high-quality U.S. food products.