Korea doubles snack imports in 10 years

South Korea has seen the volume of snack foods imported into the country almost double over the last decade to 121,100 tonnes last year.

The figure is 1.8 times higher than snack imports in 2005—equivalent to an annual growth rate of 7.6%, according to figures released by the Korean food ministry.

The value of these imports has grown even more dramatically, from US$212m in 2005 to US$634m in 2015.

America was the top exporter last year, followed by China, Germany and Malaysia.

Germany saw the biggest growth in the 10-year period, having increased its confectionary exports to Korea by 1,350%. Imports from Malaysia grew by a factor of over nine, while those from Indonesia grew by almost 400%.