SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s coffee imports have declined this year due to reduced global production, dampening the growth driven by coffee’s popularity in the country.
The value of coffee imports for the country totaled US$646.7 million in the January-July period, marking a 9.5 percent decrease compared to the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.
In volume, South Korea imported about 109,752 tons of coffee during the 7-month period, reflecting a 3.9 percent drop from the preceding year.
If this trend persists until the year’s end, coffee imports on an annual basis will experience their first decline in five years.
The decrease in imports can also be attributed to a base effect following last year’s exponential growth.
Coffee imports surged by 8.2 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, marking the highest growth rate since 2016. In monetary terms, imports skyrocketed by 42.4 percent, the highest increase since 2011.
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