The volume of onion imports has increased fourfold

South Korea has experienced a sharp drop in onion production which has resulted in an increase in imports. In the first 2 months of 2021, the volume imported has more than quadrupled compared to the same period last year.

 

 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the country imported 13,715 tonnes of onions between early January and week 07. That is a more than 4-fold increase compared to the 3,027 tonnes imported in January-February 2020.

 

 

These imports come mainly from China (63% of the total volume) and Japan (32%).

 

 

This jump in imported volumes can be explained by the drop in national production following a long rainy season and a series of typhoons which strongly impacted the output.

 

 

According to the agriculture ministry, the country is expected to depend on imports until early April, when this year's onion harvest begins.

 

 

In 2020 South Korea produced around 1.17 million tonnes of onions. This 2020 production was significantly lower than the 1.59 million tonnes of onions produced in 2019.