SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The coronavirus outbreak is drastically altering the fate of the food industry.
While sales of food products such as ramen and instant rice are soaring as consumers scramble to hoard essential goods at home, non-essential drinks such as coffee and beer have plunged in sales.
Supermarket chain Emart reported a 34.9 percent jump in weekly ramen sales, while sales of instant rice were up 23.3 percent.
The coffee and liquor industries, however, were directly hit by the coronavirus as consumers are refraining from going outdoors.
Sales of coffee, beer and soju (a Korean distilled beverage made from grain) in January and February dropped by more than 30 percent compared to the previous year.
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