Increasing Beer Export
The Korea Customs Service announced on September 6 that South Korea’s beer exports reached an all-time high of US$84.46 million last year, up 15.4% from a year ago.
Between 2013 and 2015, South Korea’s beer exports increased from US$72.25 million to show a growth rate of 16.9% whereas the country’s total exports decreased by 5.9% from US$559.6 billion to US$526.8 billion. During the first seven months of this year, its beer exports increased 3.7% year on year to US$48.01 million.
Likewise, the average beer export price rose from US$0.77 per liter to US$0.79 per liter during the same period as premium beer exports increased. Shipments to Hong Kong totaled US$35 million last year. Hong Kong has been the largest export destination for South Korean beer exporters since as early as 2000.
China ranked second by accounting for 22.9% of the total beer exports. The exports to China increased 35.9% in 2013, 66.5% in 2014 and 37.1% last year. It was followed by Iraq (8.6%), Singapore (8%) and the United States (4.4%). Shipments to Vietnam, in the meantime, skyrocketed from US$11,000 to US$60,000 between 2013 and 2014 and to US$427,000 last year.