Browse Data and Analysis

E-commerce is one of the largest retail channels and an essential component of the overall consumer market in Korea. Food related online sales in 2023 including food, agricultural products, and food delivery services was once again the largest category, occupying about 30 percent of the total online sales for three consecutive years.

Korea’s marketing year (MY) 2024/25 citrus production is forecast down 2.6 percent to 565,000 MT, a 10-year low, on gradually declining acreage and adverse weather conditions. Jeju Island, where nearly all Korean citrus is grown, experienced a prolonged summer heat wave lasting into mid-September, followed by excessive fall rain, which caused fruit cracking and rot.

In contrast to the production surplus in MY 2023/24, total citrus production is expected to decrease 36 percent in MY 2024/25 to around 5 million metric tons (MMT) due to excessive heat during the blooming period and drought conditions during the harvest period. Due to projected decreased production, it is expected that citrus prices at supermarkets will increase.

Korea depends heavily on imports to meet the demand for dried fruits, though overall demand has seen a slight decrease over the last five years. In 2023, the United States held roughly 53% of the market share for imported dried fruit.

In 2022 (the latest official data available), South Korea's sales in the HRI food service sector reached 177.12 trillion KRW (137.1 billion USD), a 17.48 percent increase from 2021, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, monthly per capita spending on the HRI food service rose to 179,648 KRW (139.1 USD), up 10.66 percent from 2022 and 30.65 percent from 2021.

Turkiye’s HRI sector continues to grapple with rising inflation and economic uncertainty, while sales in terms of U.S. dollars have yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels.

Turkiye’s cotton production in marketing year (MY) 2024/25 is forecast to increase to 865,000 metric tons (MT; 3.97 million bales), since farmers planted cotton on larger area in response to temporary cotton price hikes during the planting season and because of better yields compared to last MY due to better weather conditions.