Browse Data and Analysis

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

On November 5, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare published a marketing year 2024/25 production forecast at the lowest level in five years, at 23.4 million 480 lb. bales on an area of 11.4 million hectares.

In marketing year (MY) 2024/25, due to favorable climatic conditions, avocado production is expected to total 200,000 metric tons (MT), representing a 33.3 percent increase from MY 2023/24. The area planted will total 33,010 hectares, reflecting a one percent growth from MY 2023/24.

The cotton production forecast for 2024/25 has been revised downward to 5.2 million bales, with the area unchanged at 2 million hectares.

Discrepancies between the information provided on the export certificate and the information on the label of the package in U.S. dairy products is causing recurring detentions at the ports of entry in Chile.

India’s 2025 beef production (mostly carabeef) is forecast to reach 4.64 million metric tons (MMT), up from 4.57 MMT in 2024, on steady domestic and increased export demand.

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.

Sri Lanka’s agricultural biotechnology policies remain unchanged. Over the past year, there has been no progress in the approval of its draft Biosafety Act, which establishes a system to protect biodiversity, the environment and human, plant and animal health while minimizing the risks of biotechnology.

FAS Mumbai forecasts MY 2024/25 Indian raw cotton exports at 1.2 million 480 lb. bales, 55 percent lower than previous estimate, due to India lint prices trading four percent higher than global prices, prompting buyers to prefer finer quality machine-picked cotton from foreign origins.

This year’s report does not contain significant changes from last year’s report. Chile continues allowing the reproduction of seeds under strict control of the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Kazakhstan has not announced any changes to its biotechnology policies. Major challenges like climate change, variable weather, monocropping wheat, and the reliance on Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member biotechnology regulations could be a future catalyst for Kazakhstan to develop its own biotechnology law.

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.