2026韩国食品加工原料年度报告

Date:May 27, 2026 Report Name:Food Processing Ingredients Annual Country:Korea-Republic of Post:Seoul ATO Report Category:Food Processing Ingredients Prepared By:Hye rim Chun Approved By:Lisa Allen ReportHighlights: The Korean food processing industry relies heavily on imports to manufacture a wide variety of foodand beverage products. Given this demand, there is ample opportunity for imported agricultural productsfor processing use including bulk commodities such as wheat, intermediate ingredients such as fruitjuice concentrates, and many other products, such as flavors and coloring agents. In 2024, the foodprocessing industry generated over 111.9 trillion Korean Won (approximately $82.1 billion) in sales. MARKET FACT SHEET:REPUBLIC OF KOREA Executive Summary Quick Facts CY 2025 The Republic of Korea (ROK) had the 13th largest economyin the world with a GDP of $1.87 trillion and a per capitaGNI of $36,855 in 2025. It is about the size ofIndiana, with apopulation of 51.7 million. Over 80 percent of Koreans livein urban areas. Domestic production meets only 46 percent offood demand. The United States exported $10.2 billion inagricultural and related products to the ROK in 2025, makingit our fifth largest country export market. The United Statessupplies around 23 percent of the ROK's agricultural imports. Imports of Consumer-Oriented ProductsUS $21billion ($6.0billion from USA) Top 10 ImportGrowth (%) Products in the ROK, by value(BICO, 2024-2025)1)Dairy Products(23%) 2)Chocolate & Cocoa Products(13%)3)Tree Nuts(12%)4)Coffee, Roasted and Extracts(10%)5)Spices(8%)6)Condiments & Sauces(6%)7)Meat Products(5%)8)Beer(5%)9)Poultry Meat &Prods. (ex.eggs)(4%)10)Chewing Gum & Candy(4%) Consumer-Oriented Agricultural ImportsIn 2025,the ROKimported consumer-oriented agricultural products totaling around $21billion. There aremanyopportunities for U.S. export growth in this segment,including for beef, pork, fruits, tree nuts, dairy products,confectioneries, beverages, and further prepared foods. Food Industry by Channels ($U.S. billion) Retail Food Industry (2025)$130Food Service-HRI (2024)$145.8Food Processing (2024)$66.6Food and Agriculture Exports (2025)$13 Top 10Korean RetailersCoupang LLC,Shinsegae Co Ltd,Naver Corp,Lotte Group,GS Holdings Corp,Alphabet Inc, BGF Retail Co Ltd, HyundaiDepartment Store Co Ltd, SK Telecom Co Ltd, CostcoWholesale Corp GDP/Population (2024)Population: 51.8million GDP: US$1.87trillionGDP per capita: US$36,113 FoodRetail Industry Korean retail food sales totaled $130 billion in 2025,accounting for 32 percent of total retail sales (excludingautomobiles). Among grocery retailers except e-commerce,convenience stores were the leading retail channel, followedby hypermarket discount stores, super supermarkets (SSM),grocery stores in the neighborhood and traditional market. Food Processing Industry In 2024, Korea had over 31,771food processing companies,which generated $66.6billion in sales. Korean foodprocessing companies rely heavily on imported commoditiesand ingredients. Imports of basic and intermediate agriculturalproducts totaled $16.9 billion in 2024. Eighteen percent ($3.2billion) of these imports came from the United States. Data and Information Sources:Latest available statistics areused in this publication and will continue to be updatedthroughout the year as new data is available. Global AgriculturalTrade System (GATS), Korea Ministry of Food & Drug Safety,Korea National Statistics Office, CIA Factbook, Int’l MonetaryFund (IMF), Korea Int'l Trade Association, Euromonitor Int’l. Food Service IndustryKorea’s HRI sector reached $145.8 billion in 2024, up 3.73 percent from the previous year. Despite rising labor andingredient costs, and weak consumer confidence, the sectorremained relatively stable. The sector is expected to showmoderate growth as consumer demand for affordable diningoptions and delivery services continues, while businessoperators continue to improve cost efficiency. Contact:U.S. Agricultural Trade Office Seoul(atoseoul@usda.gov) SECTION I. MARKET SUMMARY TheROK relies heavily on imports to fulfill its food and agricultural needs. The Korean food processingsector is the major user of imported agricultural products for processing use, including soybeans, wheat,vegetable oils, fruit juice concentrate, andfood additives such as flavors, coloring agents, andpreservatives. The Korean food processing industry generated111.9trillion Korean Won (KRW),approximately $82.1billion, in2024 domestic sales.1The industry grew at a compound annual growthrate (CAGR) of14.1percent from 2020-24. Despite increase competition from other countries,trade experts expect thatthe United Stateswillremain the leading supplier of food and agricultural products to the ROK for years to come, not only forcommodities and intermediate products, butalso for consumer-oriented products. The United Statesaccounted for 23.6%percent of total2025Korean imports of food and agricul