South Korea’s imports of seafood rose in the first nine months of this year on the popularity of shrimp and salmon, and a poor squid harvest, the oceans ministry said Tuesday. (Image: Yonhap)
SEJONG, Oct. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s imports of seafood rose in the first nine months of this year on the popularity of shrimp and salmon, and a poor squid harvest, the oceans ministry said Tuesday.
South Korea imported $3.97 billion worth of seafood from January to September, a sharp 12 percent gain from a year earlier, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said.
Seafood imports in the third quarter increased 14 percent on-year to $1.33 billion, the ministry said.
Strong demand in shrimp and salmon drove up the overall imports, while the sliding harvest of squid led to a 62 percent hike in the amount brought in from abroad during the nine-month period.
In contrast, imports of scabbardfish declined as a large fishing ground was created in waters off the southern island of Jeju to push up the domestic harvest.
China has been the largest exporter of seafood to South Korea, with shipments hitting $860 million, although this inched down 0.2 percent compared with a year ago.
Inbound shipments from Russia jumped 29.6 percent on the popularity of king crab and codfish, and those from Chile and Peru rose 18.6 percent and 45.9 percent, respectively, thanks to squid sales, the ministry said.
(Yonhap)
