Pork imports to South Korea fell by 21%

South Korea's pork imports, including offal, fell sharply last year due to market disruptions caused by the CORONAVIRUS crisis. Volumes decreased by 21% to 449,000 tons, which particularly affected imports from the EU (-28%) and the US (-14%).

At the same time, South Korea's domestic pork production increased by 3% in 2020, according to the latest USDA estimates.

“The level of decline in import purchases has been fairly constant throughout 2020. The covid-19 pandemic has reduced demand for imported pork in SOUTH KOREA due to reduced demand from restaurants, which are the main consumers of imported products,” commented Bethan Wilkins, Senior Analyst at Red MEAT, AHDB.

Over the past couple of weeks, restrictive measures in South Korea have been eased, but large gatherings are still banned and restaurants are operating at low capacity. The COVID-19 vaccination program was launched on February 26, but it could take several months before other restrictions on the population are lifted, and meat imports are expected to continue to decline in the coming months.

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