After three years of rapid growth, Korea’s imported wine market is experiencing a downturn as home consumption decreases and inventories accumulate.
Latest data from the Korea Customs Service shows a significant decline in the country’s wine imports for 2023. The volume of imports dropped by 20.1% to 56,542 tons over the year. In terms of value, there was a contraction from 2022’s US$581.3 million to US$506 million in 2023, marking a 12.95% decrease.
The Korean wine market had previously expanded rapidly during the pandemic, buoyed by relaxed regulations on online wine shopping and robust home consumption within the country.
However, the intense demand during the pandemic led to massive stockpiling, leaving importers with surplus stocks from last year. This overstock issue has been further compounded by a decline in home consumption post-pandemic.
Conversely, the country’s whisky imports surged to a record high in 2023. Government data reveals a 13.1% increase in whisky imports, amounting to 30,586 tons, despite a slight dip in value to US$259.6 million. This growth is attributed to the rising popularity of highball whisky in Korea.
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