Beef and wine in South Korea: big for SA exporters opportunities

South Korea has been touted by many agricultural economists and other industry role players as a burgeoning market for South African agricultural trade.

This is largely because South Korea is a major importer of food and food products. And with a population of close to 52 million people and topography that doesn’t lend itself to extensive agricultural production, it is likely that South Korea will remain a net importer of food for some time to come.

This is evidenced by the increase in the value of agricultural products imported into the country over the past decade, with the import value of food rising from US$21,36 billion (about R180 billion) in 2012 to US$32,58 billion (R526 billion) in 2021.

HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE IN SOUTH KOREA

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, when it comes to agricultural production, South Korea is one of the world’s least self-sufficient countries.

Despite the current state of agriculture in South Korea, the country was a mostly agricultural society until the 1960s. As in many countries, farmers in early South Korea were mostly peasants who grew crops and farmed livestock on land owned by wealthy landlords.

From 1945 to 1950, the US and South Korean governments set about restoring land to the landless farmers. However, this programme was interrupted by the Korean War, which lasted from mid-1950 to mid-1953.

The Land Reform Act was thus only fully implemented in June 1954, after the Korean War had ended. The Act introduced an ownership cap on land, with each household only allowed to own up to 3ha. The South Korean government also bought land to distribute among farmers who didn’t have any.