SEJONG, Jan. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Per capita rice consumption in South Korea hit a fresh record low last year amid rapid changes in eating habits, government data showed Thursday. The average annual consumption of rice per person fell to 61.8 kilograms last year, down 0.2 percent from the previous year’s 61.9 kg, according to [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Implementing a seafood traceability scheme, regulating fish farm antibiotic use and setting industry wide standards for aquaculture are some of the tenets of the government’s plan for South Korea’s seafood industry in 2018. Officials from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) on January 23 presented the details of [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Exports of South Korean-made instant noodles, or “ramyeon,” surpassed the US$300 million mark for the first time ever on the back of strong popularity in China, the United States and Southeast Asian nations, government data showed Tuesday. Shipments of ramyeon reached a record high of $380 million last year, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — The beer trade deficit surpassed $100 million for the first time in South Korean history last year, as consumers are increasingly electing to imbibe foreign brews. Trade data collected by the Korea Customs Service showed last year’s beer imports stood at $263 million, 44.9 percent higher than in 2016. [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Swiss food giant Nestle unveiled the world’s first product made of natural pink “Ruby” chocolate in South Korea and Japan on Thursday, amid growing popularity of uniquely flavored chocolates among local consumers. “Ruby,” developed by Swiss chocolate producer Barry Callebaut, is the first new type of natural color for [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s deficit in kimchi trade reached US$47.28 million last year, up 11 percent from the year before, as cheap products from China flooded in, customs office statistics showed Wednesday. Last year’s deficit is the largest since the Korea Customs Service began to track data in 2000. Data showed [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire)– South Korea imported US$25 billion worth of food last year, with the biggest shipment in monetary terms coming from the United States, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Tuesday. The total is a 7 percent increase from the year before and breaks down to 18.29 million [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Hite Jinro Co., South Korea’s leading liquor manufacturer, said Tuesday it has established a new branch in Vietnam, as it attempts to tap deeper into the large Southeast Asian market. The launch of the new branch in Ho Chi Minh City came two years after the company set up [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The annual operating profit of Starbucks Coffee Korea Co., the local unit of the U.S. giant, surpassed the 100 billion-won (US$94 million) mark for the first time last year, driven by solid demand from young consumers, industry sources said Tuesday. The operating profit of the coffee chain, which is [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Caffe Bene, a local coffee franchise, filed for a court-led restructuring scheme on Friday after suffering from a protracted slump and mounting losses, the company said. Launched in 2008, Caffe Bene expanded to become one of the country’s largest coffee franchises, opening more than 1,000 stores in five years, [...]