Exports of 'makgeolli' show near E6-fold increase last month

(ATTN: ADDS more info on whiskey and wine imports)
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- Exports of "makgeolli," a traditional Korean rice
wine, rose sharply last month on the back of ever-increasing popularity of the
alcoholic beverage, a government body said Wednesday.
According to the Korea Customs Service, outbound shipments of makgeolli, a milky
brew with an alcohol content of 6-7 percent, came to US$751,000 last month, which
is 5.7 times the export revenue of $131,000 during the same month of the previous
year. In terms of amount, makgeolli exports were tallied at 806 tons, up 6.8
times from a year ago.
January's makgeolli exports were the fourth largest on a monthly basis following
$1.20 million in December 2009, $862,000 in December 2008 and $829,000 in
November 2009.
Industry sources attributed the increase in exports of the Korean alcoholic
beverage at the beginning of the year to its continuous popularity from a year
ago.
Japan topped the list of importers of the Korean wine with $466,000 or 62.1
percent of the total exports last month, followed by the United States with
$187,000 or 24.9 percent.
Outbound shipments of makgeolli to Japan constituted nearly 90 percent of the
total exports and those to the United States made up a mere 7 percent last year.
But exports to the U.S. increased significantly last month, with those to Japan
on the decline, according to the government report.
South Korea's makgeolli exports surged 41.9 percent on-year to a record $6.30
million in 2009 amid steady overseas demand for the beverage, an earlier
government report said.
During the reported month, the sustained popularity of makgeolli in the domestic
market curbed imports of wine and whiskey from increasing sharply.
Inbound shipments of wine totaled $12.22 million last month, up just 3.7 percent
from the same month of the previous year, but nearly half the amount of the same
month of 2008.
Whiskey imports grew to $20.21 million last month from $13.60 million a year
earlier, but they were behind the 2008 level of $25.08 million during the same
month.
kimnh@yna.co.kr
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