South Korea's coffee bean imports spike 13 pct on-year in 2024
South Korea's imports of coffee beans jumped sharply from a year earlier in 2024, with imports this year widely expected to reach an all-time high, customs data showed Wednesday, Yonhap reports.
Imports of coffee beans, including both raw and roasted products, came to US$1.24 billion last year, up 13 percent from $1.1 billion the previous year, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS).
In terms of volume, imports gained 5.7 percent on-year to 194,809 tons in 2024.
Brazil accounted for 21 percent of the country's annual import value and 30 percent of import volume. Colombian and Vietnamese coffee ranked second and third, respectively, shipping 29,835 tons and 29,781 tons of coffee beans to South Korea last year.
Coffee imports are widely expected to reach a record high this year, with inbound shipments in the first eight months of the year already nearing the annual total of 2024.
Imports in the January-August period reached $1.17 billion, up 31 percent from the same period last year, the data showed.
"If the current pace continues, this year's overall coffee imports are expected to surpass last year's total," a KCS official said.
In terms of volume, imports rose about 1 percent on-year to 136,318 tons in the first eight months of 2025.
South Korea's coffee imports had been on a steady rise since 2018, hitting an all-time high of $1.3 billion in 2022, before slightly dipping to $1.1 billion in 2023.
Earlier, it was reported that Starbucks will cut 900 jobs and close more coffeehouses in North America.
