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Korea - Republic Of > East Asia and the Pacific + South Korea

Korea’s wine import sector has been undergoing a stabilizing phase since the explosive growth around 2021. In 2023, wine imports reached 506 million USD, down 12.9 percent from the previous year, totaling 56.5 million kg, a decrease of 20.4 percent compared to 2022.

Wine grape production in 2025 is forecast to improve by five percent on favorable winter conditions, which will translate into a slight increase in wine production.

Côte d'Ivoire's wine market is a growing, and set to further expand thanks to the takeoff of a modern and internationally well connected middle class. At the same time, urbanization is expanding alongside a dynamic retail market offering U.S. wines a potentially attractive export destination.

The five biggest corporations, Shoprite Holdings Ltd., Pick n Pay Retailers Pty Ltd., Spar Group Ltd., Walmart-owned Massmart, and Woolworths Holdings Ltd., account for a substantial portion of the retail food market in South Africa. When combined, they make up over 60% of all retail food sales.

Ghana’s modern retail outlets are in the country’s large urban centers, where the major shopping malls are located. Beyond the capital city of Accra and the regional capitals, retail stores tend to be smaller. The retail sector is dominated by small local grocers, who control 83 percent of the market.

Nigeria is one of Africa's largest retail consumer markets, however in 2023-2024, difficult economic conditions and changing government policies have taken a bite out of the country's food retail prospects. This report provides an overview of Nigeria’s retail sector, including market entry strategies, structure, distribution channels, and best export prospects.

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.

Côte d’Ivoire’s retail food industry is on an upward trajectory; it is a major importer of food products and ingredients. Food imports will grow in the near- to medium-term since the retail food industry is unable to meet demand through domestic food manufactures alone.

The Kenyan dairy and beef sectors are important drivers of the country’s economic growth, yet both sectors are unable to meet domestic demand. The challenges facing Kenya’s dairy and beef sectors present opportunities for U.S. technical capacity building in research, knowledge, and technology transfer.

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.

While the United States holds a 5-year average of less than 1 percent market share ($20.7 million in 2023 exports), Senegal has a growing food manufacturing industry that seeks cost-competitive ingredients and is expanding its exports to neighboring countries.