Coffee review

South Korean coffee imports soared in 2014

Published: 2025-08-21 Author: World Gafei
Last Updated: 2025/08/21, A statistical data released by South Korea shows that from January to September 2014, South Korea's coffee imports increased by 18.7% year-on-year to 99,372 tons, exceeding the largest import volume since 1990 in the same period of 2011 (92,040 tons). Coffee imports jumped 21.1 percent year-on-year to $382 million in the same period. From the perspective of importing countries, Vietnam imported the largest amount of coffee, with 23,686 tons.

According to statistics released by South Korea, from January to September 2014, South Korean coffee imports rose 18.7% year-on-year to 99372 tons, surpassing the largest imports since 1990 (92040 tons) in the same period in 2011. Over the same period, coffee imports surged 21.1% year-on-year to US $382 million. From the perspective of importing countries, the largest amount of coffee imported from Vietnam was 23686 tons, followed by Brazilian coffee (17566 tons), Colombian coffee (14043 tons), Honduras coffee (9219 tons) and Peru coffee (6782 tons). Among them, imports from Colombia far exceeded the imports for the whole of last year (13581 tons), with a significant increase.

According to analysis, the sharp increase in coffee imports is mainly due to the sharp increase in the number of South Korean coffee chains in recent years. Moreover, after the entry into force of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2012, tariffs were reduced and coffee imports from the United States increased.

Industry analysts said that recently, the number of coffee stores of domestic and foreign brands showed a trend of rapid growth. Although more and more people are concerned about their health and drinking other drinks, the popularity of coffee will continue in the short term.

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