Wine imports hit new high in 2020 amid pandemic

Korea's wine imports hit a fresh high in 2020 as more people enjoyed drinking at home and alone due to the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday.

Asia's fourth-largest economy imported $330 million worth of wine last year, up 27.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service.

It was an all-time high, and wine imports exceeded those of beer, which sank 19.2 percent on-year to $227 million.

The customs office said wine imports soared last year as people preferred drinking at home and alone instead of going to bars amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Beer imports dipped as imports of Japanese products tumbled and homegrown craft beer gained popularity among drinkers, it added.

Korea's wine imports have been gathering more ground this year, with imports more than doubling to $325 million in the first seven months of this year.

In the January-July period, the country's liquor imports swelled 26.2 percent on-year to $800 million.

The data also showed Korea's liquor imports reached a new high of $1.1 billion last year, up 8.2 percent from a year earlier, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In contrast, Seoul's liquor exports fell 10.3 percent on-year to $374 million in 2020.

Yonhap

Yonhap