[Yonhap News Photo]
South Korea's coffee market has bypassed a prolonged economic downturn to grow further, helped by a diversified taste of consumers that boosted imports of beans to a record high last year.
Imports of coffee beans and related products rose 10.7 percent on-year to 159,000 tons in 2016, according to the Korea Customs Service. Raw green coffee beans accounted for 89.7 percent of total imports led by Brazilian and Vietnamese beans.
The coffee craze remained unabated this year, with first-quarter bean imports up seven percent on-year to 40,000 tons. As the domestic coffee market, valued at 6.4 trillion won (5.7 billion US dollars), gets saturated, specialty coffeehouses and franchise cafes lead growth with high-quality and multiple products to meet a shift in the taste of consumers.
Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
