Browse Data and Analysis

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

FAS/San José expects orange production to increase approximately 11 percent in marketing year (MY) 2024/25 to 250,000 metric tons. Production in MY 2023/24 was lower than previously expected at 225,000 metric tons as a result of erratic rainfall patterns associated with the El Niño weather phenomenon.

This report provides economic, market, and regulatory analysis for U.S. exporters looking to do business in Costa Rica, highlighting trends and offering a practical overview of the local market.

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.

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.

Production of genetically engineered products (primarily cotton for seed and pink pineapples) is expected to increase in 2025 as new cotton events are expected to be approved by the National Technical Biosafety Commission.

In marketing year (MY) 2024/25, Post forecasts cotton acreage and production slightly lower at 45,000 hectares and 153,000 bales, due to heavy rain in some cotton growing districts during the seed sowing period. For MY 2024/25, Post also forecasts...

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.