Browse Data and Analysis

On November 14, 2023, Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) released its final estimate of 2023 rice production at 3.7 million metric tons (MMT), up an additional 0.5 percent from the initial rice production estimates released in early October and down 1.6 percent overall from the prior year.

In 2023, the Korean government implemented three rounds of tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for various imported agricultural, livestock, and fishery products, including new TRQs to stabilize food prices.

As the 5th largest country export market for the United States, Korea provides a promising market for U.S. agricultural products. In 2022, Korea imported about $50 billion agricultural and food products from all over the world and the U.S. supplied a fifth of it, ranking number one. Other key suppliers were China, Australia, Brazil, Vietnam, and Thailand.

Already reeling from high fruit prices, Korean consumers will face another year of expensive, lower-quality apples. Korea’s apple production for marketing year (MY) 2023/24 fell 25 percent year-on-year after orchards suffered a series of adverse weather events in 2023.

Ample opportunities exist for U.S. agricultural exports to South Korea. Highlighted in the chart above, U.S. agricultural product exports were a record $9.5 billion in 2022, up 2 percent from 2021. South Korea is the sixth largest export market for the United States, thanks in part to a successful free trade agreement (KORUS) between the two countries and a robust demand for high-quality U.S. food products.

Korea has not finalized the May 2021 revisions of its Living Modified Organism (LMO) Act, which defines Korea’s regulatory policies for products developed through innovative technologies including genome editing.

The Ministry of Environment completed the regulatory framework for the safe use and commercialization of Genetically Engineered (GE) products. However, El Salvador is still lacking the norms and surveillance network to allow the use of biotech in...

This report provides examples for the major export certificates and other documents required by the government of El Salvador for U.S. exports of food and agricultural products.

Rice production in Korea is forecast to be gradually down in marketing year (MY) 2023/24 on reduced acreage in response to government incentives encouraging farmers to switch to other grains, such as wheat and soybean.

Korean fresh pear production is expected to decrease 20 percent in Marketing Year (MY) 2023/24 as adverse weather events struck orchards throughout spring flowering and into the summer. Supplies of high-quality pears are expected to be below average because of high rates of damaged fruit.

Korean seafood imports totaled $6.47 billion in 2022, up 12.7 percent from the year before. Seafood for human consumption imported from the United States to Korea in 2022 reached $229 million, an increase of 5.6 percent year-to-year. The United...

In El Salvador there is no specific food law. However, the Ministry of Health’s (MINSAL) Health Code is used to enforce food safety for all food and beverage products. MINSAL is in charge of food and beverage product registration. Animal based...