Record sales for Hite Jinro

Hite Jinro, Korea’s No. 1 beer and soju producer, said yesterday that its exports will reach a new record high in 2011 thanks to strong overseas demand.

In the first nine months of this year, exports surged 30.3 percent to reach $107.15 million, surpassing the previous record of $107.08 million shipped out for the whole of last year, the company said.

Sales of soju, a Korean distilled beverage made from rice and other starches, hit $41.78 million, with beer sales topping $54.89 million at the end of September.

Outbound shipments of makgeolli, a traditional Korean rice beer that is popular in countries such as Japan, exceeded $10 million.

“The export surge has been fueled by more beer and makgeolli being shipped to Japan, which is the largest foreign market for locally made alcoholic beverages,” the company said.

Hite Jinro said beer exports rose 48.9 percent on-year with numbers for makgeolli soaring 127.6 percent.

At the present pace, it should be able to ship out 1.2 million boxes of rice wine by year’s end, up from 700,000 boxes exported last year, the company said.