World Grain - March 2023 - 26

COUNTRY FOCUS
Disposable incomes are growing and with it the demand for
products that offer convenience. South Korea is one of the largest
net agro-food importers in the world, with more half of those
imports destined for further processing within the country.
Trade represented 80% of GDP in 2022, according to the
World Bank, and South Korea is the world's seventh largest
exporter of goods and tenth largest importer. South Korea has
free trade agreements with at least 57 countries, representing
more than 70% of the global economy.
Wheat imports
South Korea produces a small amount of wheat and is dependent
on imports. Since 2000, its self-sufficiency rate for wheat
has been less than 1%. Wheat was the first grain to be influenced
by market opening, and eliminating the wheat procurement
program in 1984 caused a significant fall in production.
Production has fluctuated from less than 10,000 tonnes in
1990 to about 30,000 tonnes in the late 2000s. In 2022-23,
production is estimated at 30,000 tonnes, according to a report
from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US
Department of Agriculture, up slightly from 2021-22 but significantly
improved from 2020-21.
The government provides incentives to domestic wheat growers,
including purchasing, breeding and marketing programs.
The target for self-sufficiency in milling wheat consumption is
5% by 2025, the FAS said, increasing to 10% by 2030.
Imports for 2022-23 (including flour and pasta imports on
a wheat equivalent basis) are forecast at 4.2 million tonnes,
down from the estimated 4.8 million tonnes in 2021-22. Feed
wheat imports are expected to move toward the previous fiveyear
average to 1.4 million tonnes while milling wheat imports
are expected to increase slightly to 2.8 million tonnes.
This increase is due to stepped-up demand for food processing,
such as instant noodles.
Feed wheat import estimates will depend on the availability
and price of feed wheat compared with feed corn.
Flour imports for 2021-22 are estimated at 21,000 tonnes
(wheat equivalent), an increase of 31% from the previous year,
the FAS said, due to increased demand for imported flour in
the bakery sector. France is the leading supplier, followed by
Italy, the United States and Turkey. Pasta imports are expected
to increase 2% to 181,000 tonnes, reflecting consumer demand.
Flour exports are expected to hold steady at around 60,000
tonnes while pasta exports are expected to continue expanding
to 361,000 tonnes due to the growing popularity of Korean
instant noodles.
The website of the Korea Flour Millers Industry Association
(KOFMIA) names seven large milling companies. They
are Deahan Flour Mills, Daesan Flour Mills, Samyang Corp.,
Korea Flour Mills, CJ CheilJedang, Samhwa Flour Mills and
Young Nam Flour Mills.
Rice production
Rice production in 2022-23 is estimated at 3.76 million tonnes
(milled basis), down from 3.85 million tonnes in the previous
26
South Korea wheat imports
(in 1,000 tonnes)
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
South Korea rice production
(in 1,000 tonnes)
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
*Projected
marketing year, the FAS said. The government is encouraging
a 5.1% reduction in planted rice acreage to reduce overproduction
and support domestic prices.
" Given the continuously aging population in agricultural
production areas, lower mechanization rates for alternative
crops like wheat and soybeans, and the prevalence of specialized
rice production equipment, it will be difficult to significantly
increase the production of alternative crops to replace
rice production, " the FAS said.
Consumption estimates for 2021-22 are 6.1% lower than
the previous year as table rice consumption continues to drop.
However, the forecast for processing consumption increased
1.6% in 2022-23, mainly driven by the cooked rice category.
" Due to the changing composition of household types in
Korea, there is an increasing demand for processing rice used
in ready-to-eat products, particularly from single-person and
dual-income households with a preference for convenient
homestyle meals, " the FAS said.
March 2023 / World Grain / World-Grain.com
2022-23*
2021-22
2020-21
2019-20
2018-19
2017-18
2016-17
2015-16
2022-23*
2021-22
2020-21
2019-20
2018-19
2017-18
2016-17
2015-16
Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - March 2023

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