Pork imports to South Korea returned to pre-pandemic levels

In the first quarter of 2022, the volume of imports reached 152,000 tons, which is 41% more than in the first quarter of 2021.

In the first three months of this year, SOUTH KOREA increased its imports of pork (including offal) to levels recorded before the covid-19 crisis . By the end of March, the Asian country had imported 152,000 tons of pork, up 41% from the volume recorded in the first quarter of 2021. Typically, South Korea imports 2 million tons of pork annually to meet domestic demand. However, since 2020, imports have declined due to restrictions imposed in connection with the pandemic. Pork consumption per capita in South Korea is about 27 kg, and last year's production was 1.4 million tons. The USDA estimates that production will remain at the same level for 2022. This is good news for the main suppliers of pork to South Korea, namely the United States., EU (mainly Spain), CANADA and South American countries.