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

In 2024, Brazil surpassed the United States in cotton production and exports for the first time on record. Brazil's MY2024/25 planted area is also estimated to reach a new record. Favorable prices compared to corn as well as lower production costs have boosted cotton's profitability, making it the preferred choice for second crop planting.

In September 2024, a National Assembly member submitted a draft revision of the Act on Transboundary Movements of Living Modified Organisms, commonly referred to as the LMO Act.

Brazil’s MY 2024/25 total coffee production is forecast at 66.4 million bags, 0.2 percent higher than the previous season. This timid growth comes in the aftermath of a strong period of adverse weather conditions in the main producing regions, which led to a decrease in initial estimates for the season.

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.

Korea’s fresh pear production is projected to rise by 10.2 percent to 202,000 metric tons (MT) in marketing year (MY) 2024/25, helped by favorable weather and lower incidences of diseases and pests compared to the previous year.

Market share of U.S. corn in South Korea is expected to remain strong in MY 2024/25 after rebounding to 20 percent in MY 2023/24. Domestic rice production continues its slow decline as the government incentivizes farmers to switch to planting alternate crops.

Brazil is the second-largest producer of biotech crops in the world, with 131 events approved for plants. For the 2024/2025 crop season, FAS Brasilia forecasts 68.5 million hectares planted with GE traits. Adoption rates for soybeans and cotton reached 99 percent and for corn, 95 percent.

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.

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.

Post increased its estimate for soybean production in 2024/25 to 161 million metric tons (MMT), from the previous estimate of 160 MMT.

Milk production in Brazil for 2024 is expected to increase by 1 percent to 25 million metric tons (MMT) and to increase again in 2025 to 25.4 MMT.