South Korea: Coffee Market Brief Update
Korean coffee imports data showed 27 percent increase in value of $527 million and 17 percent increase in volume of 134,000 Metric Tons in 2014 compared to the year 2013. Despite the economic down turn and health concerns, coffee industry resources expect to continue to grow by 10 percent annually for the coming years as the last four consecutive years have done. South Korea’s per capita coffee consumption is five-times greater than consumption in the rest of the Asia - Pacific region and, the coffee market overall is estimated at about $3 billion in 2014. As the younger generation continue to experience a western coffee culture and consumers demand premium, high quality coffee beans, this trend is expected to continue.
