Koreans are bitten by the coffee bug
The coffee culture is seducing Korea. Recent statistics have revealed that the country has increased the amount of imported coffee considerably over the past twelve months – some 117,000 tonnes of coffee were imported last year, which is an increase of some 12,000 tonnes from the year before.
Unsurprisingly, these figures correlate with the rising coffee consumption of the population. A Korean adult drank 278 cups of coffee in 2007 and increased incrementally each year to 312 cups in 2010.
And the good coffee news does not end there either. The Koreans are not just interested in quantity – they are also interested in quality. The country has developed the taste for high-end, superior quality beans too. This statement has been supported by recently published figures showing that the demand for cheaper coffee, typically imported from Vietnam, is on the wane, whereas the requirement for Columbian coffee has increased by a staggering 47%, to become the largest exporter of unroasted beans to the country, even though the price per kilogram is 3 to 4 times more expensive.
Similarly, Korean preferences are changing from instant coffee products to full-flavour roasted coffee beans. As would be expected, there is a similar increase in the purchase of coffee machines.
However, interestingly, Koreans are significant exporters of powdered coffee and this industry was worth some $310 million last year.
Whichever way you look at it – expensive tastes for imports and high rates of consumption – or heavy-weight exporters of the powdered coffee bean – it is clear that Korea is a significant contender in the global coffee scene.