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

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.

There are no significant changes to the agricultural biotechnology situation in the Czech Republic in 2024. The country generally maintains a scientific approach towards biotechnology and became a vocal advocate for their adoption in the EU during its EU Council presidency. Czech farmers planted genetically engineered (GE) corn from 2005 to 2017.

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.

In 2023, the value of U.S. tall oil exports to Finland and Sweden rose to nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. This is mainly due to a surge of the price of tall oil as the demand as feedstock for the production of advanced biofuels is increasing while the availability is limited.

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.

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.

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.

Czechia has been an interesting market for U.S. food and agriculture high-value products, such as tree nuts, fish and seafood, beef, distilled spirits, wine, and food preparations. The country serves as an entry point for U.S. companies expanding beyond traditional markets in Western Europe to the developing markets in the East.

Chicken production in South Korea will continue its gradual growth trend through 2024 and into 2025, as poultry inventories recover from productivity challenges in 2023 and fend off a 2024 outbreak of HPAI.