Value, Convenience Drive Demand for U.S. Pork in South Korea
One of this year’s top performing international markets for U.S. pork is South Korea, where exports (through April) are up 28 percent year-over-year in volume (65,743 metric tons) and up 37 percent in value ($178 million).
Jihae Yang, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) director in Korea, says the country went through some political turmoil earlier this year with the impeachment of its former president, but consumer confidence and economic activity bounced back quickly. Although Korea’s domestic pork production is steady, it is not keeping pace with consumers’ growing demand for pork.
Yang notes that online shopping is extremely popular with Korean consumers, especially those looking for convenient foods and home meal replacement items. This bodes particularly well for U.S. processed pork, as well as for U.S. raw materials exported to Korea for further processing.
