Korean Coffee Addiction

Coffee bars such as these can be found all over the cityscape of Seoul.
Coffee bars such as these can be found all over the cityscape of Seoul.

 

According to the export and import statistics released by the Korea Customs Service on Oct. 21, imports of low coffees and coffee beans from January to September this year amounted to 99,372 tons, up 18.7 percent from 83,693 tons in the same period of the last year. The import amount surpassed the previous record of 92,040 tons in 2011.

The biggest exporter was Vietnam, which shipped out 23,686 tons, followed by Brazil (17,566 tons), Columbia (14,043 tons), Honduras (9,219 tons), and Peru (6,782 tons). In particular, imports from Columbia are larger than that of the same period last year, 13,851 tons.

The import amount in value also increased 21 percent from a year earlier, but was less than that in 2011, when the prices of low coffees were highest due to decreased prices.

An official at the Customs Service said, ”The coffee import increased as coffee consumption grew, with the rapid spread of the coffee franchise shop,” adding, “The increased imports from the US is one of the reasons for it due to the Korea-US FTA.” 

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