S.Korea sees record of beverage exports in Q1~Q3

South Korea's exports of beverages from Jan. to Sept. this year exceeded $500 million to break all-time record.

Export data released on Thursday by the Korea Customs Service (KCS) said on Tuesday, the amount of beverages (excluding mineral water and alcoholic drinks) exports reached $529 million from a 6.3% increase compared to the same period last year.

Beverage exports have been performing well this year, following last year's annual record of $630 million. KCS expected to achieve the highest export performance this year by surpassing $500 million one month earlier than last year. 

The total export volume of beverages reached an all-time high at 425,000 tons, a 1.3% increase compared to the same period last year. This is 1.7 times higher than alcoholic beverage exports (248,000 tons) and 25.4 times higher than mineral water exports (17,000 tons) for the same months.

Looking at specific categories, the export value of other beverages such as aloe, sikhye (rice beverage), sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch), and rice beverages increased by 14.0% compared to the same period last year, reaching $308 million.

The export values of fruit beverages (3.8%) and non-alcoholic beer (23.4%) also increased. By country, exports to China increased by 31.5% compared to the same period last year, reaching $151 million, accounting for 28.5% of the total beverage exports. The US ($70 million, 13.2%) and Vietnam ($48 million, 9.0%) followed as the next largest markets. A total of 142 countries received beverage exports from South Korea.

On the other hand, the import value of beverages from Jan. to Sept. reached $108 million, a 5.2% increase. The beverage trade surplus (the amount obtained by subtracting the import value from the export value) recorded $421 million. This surplus size was the highest ever for the Jan. to Sept. period.

Write to Jung-hwan Hwang at jung@hankyung.com