Kimchi Crisis? South Korea's Kimchi Imports Surge Near 7% in January-July, Breaking $100 Million Barrier; China Becomes Top Supplier!

South Korea Customs Service (customs) data on September 2, South Korea from January to July this year Kimchi (Kimchi, Sinchi) imports increased by 6.9%, 98.47 million US dollars, a record high.

The amount of kimchi imported in the first July of this year broke the record of 96.49 million dollars set in the same period of 2022. In the same period, kimchi imports increased by 6% year-on-year to 173,329 tons, setting a new record for the same period in 2019. It is analyzed that the combination of factors such as rising prices and the shortage of cabbage in summer led to the record high imports and imports of kimchi in the first seven months of this year. Most of the kimchi that South Korea imports comes from China.

Kimchi imports decreased 7.7 percent year-on-year to $140.74 million in 2021, but gradually increased from 2022 to exceed $160 million for two consecutive years. By 2022, kimchi imports will account for 14 percent of total consumption. Imports rose from less than 30,000 tons in 2003 to a record high of 306,000 tons in 2019. Due to the reduced demand for foreign meals caused by the epidemic, imports of kimchi dropped to 241,000 tons in 2020-2021, but rebounded to 287,000 tons last year.

In the first seven months of this year, exports of kimchi increased 3.7 percent year-on-year to 96.85 million dollars. Exports rose 4.9% year on year to 278.58 million tonnes, also a record high.