Beer imports hit 5-year low in 2021

SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korean imports of beer hit a five-year low in 2021 in the wake of a nationwide boycott of Japanese products, data showed Monday.

The value of beer imports came to US$223.1 million last year, down 1.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service and industry sources.

The amount represents the lowest annual tally since the $181.6 million recorded in 2016.

Imports from Japan stood at $6.9 million last year, up 21.3 percent from the previous year. But it represented a whopping 91.2 percent decline from 2018, a year before the start of the anti-Japan campaign.

In summer 2019, South Korean consumers kicked off an anti-Japan campaign in protest of Tokyo's export regulations on some key industrial materials crucial to the production of chips and displays.

The Netherlands was the largest exporter of beer to South Korea last year, followed by China, Belgium, Poland, the United States, Ireland and Germany.

Last year, South Korea's beer exports dropped 12.5 percent on-year to $59.98 million, the lowest figure since 2010. The country posted a record deficit of $163.1 million in the beer trade.

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