Wine Imports Spike in Lockdown

Korea imported record amounts of wine last year as more people opted to drink at home amid the coronavirus epidemic.

According to data from the Korea Customs Service on Thursday, Korea imported more than 44,000 tons of wine, up 31.9 percent from the previous year. That was around US$269 million worth of wine, up 34.6 percent from a year earlier.

Both the amount and the value are an all-time high.

On the other hand, imports of beer and whiskey plummeted more than 20 percent. Korea imported about 278,000 tons of beer, down 22.8 percent, while whiskey imports declined 20.1 percent to around 16,000 tons.

Beer imports were hit by a boycott of Japanese goods as people drank more domestic beers instead.

Chile, which specializes in budget plonk, was the top exporter of wines to Korea with 32.7 percent or 14,434 tons, followed by Spain (6,569 tons), Italy (5,781 tons), France (5,588 tons) and the U.S. (4,742 tons).