Asia's fourth-largest economy imported US$250 million worth of beverages last year, down 0.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT).
But inbound shipments of Vietnamese drinks surged to $103.7 million last year, jumping more than three times compared to the previous year and around 7.5-fold from 2012, aT said.
The corporation said Vietnamese drinks expanded their presence in the domestic market on popularity for tropical fruits, including calamansi, known as fat loss juice.
South Korea imported $11 million worth of beverages from Thailand last year, up 171.6 percent from 2012. This increase is also attributable to the rising popularity of tropical fruits like mango.
U.S. beverages took the largest market share in South Korea with 30.2 percent last year, followed by Germany's 6.7 percent and China's 5.5 percent, the latest findings showed. Source by the Yonhap News Agency.
