Agriculture & Food

According to customs data, the import of Kimchi (also known as Hinchi) from South Korea in 2022 increased by 20.4% year on year to $169.4 million, a record high.

According to customs data, the import value of pickles was 130 million US dollars in 2019, increased to 150 million US dollars in 2020, decreased to 140 million US dollars in 2021 due to the exposure of a video that disclosed that China's pickle factory did not meet the hygiene standards, and recovered to 169.4 million US dollars in 2022, an increase of more than 20%. According to the analysis, this is because the rising price of raw materials of pickles last year pushed up the price of domestic pickles, resulting in an increase in the demand for relatively cheap imported pickles. According to customs data, the import of pickles last year was $643 per ton, which was only 18.8% of the export of pickles ($3425).

During the same period, the export value of Korean kimchi was 140.82 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 11.9%, a decrease after seven years. According to customs data, the export of pickles reached a record high of USD104.99 million in 2019, USD1445.1 million in 2020 and USD159.92 million in 2021. After the outbreak of the COVID-19, the reputation of South Korean kimchi for improving immunity boosted exports, while the stability of the COVID-19 last year led to a decrease in kimchi exports.

In terms of export destinations, exports to Japan amounted to US $61 million, ranking first, followed by the United States (US $29.11 million), Hong Kong (US $7.27 million), the Netherlands (US $6.43 million), Australia (US $5.88 million), Taiwan (US $5.49 million), and the United Kingdom (US $5.31 million).

As a result, customs data showed that last year's pickle trade balance had a deficit of US $28.58 million, which was the largest since 2018.