Vinexpo forecasts boom in S. Korea's wine-drinking

SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Yonhap) -- Wine consumption in South Korea, the third-largest
wine market in Asia, is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, a
global wine fair organizer said Thursday.

The country's wine consumption is forecast to jump 83.4 percent from 2004 to 4.1
million 9-liter cases in 2013, posting the highest growth rate in the world
during the reported period, Robert Beynat, chief of Vinexpo, told a press
conference at a Seoul hotel.
"As I look at Korean people and culture, wine perfectly marries with the culture.
Considering the economy of Korea, it's the market for the future," Beynat said.
He attributed the expected gain in consumption to the increasing number of women
and young consumers who understand the taste of wine.
During the 2004-2008 period, the nation's wine consumption shot up 50.8 percent
to 3.37 million 9-liter cases. But it fell 9 percent from a year ago to 3.07
million cases of 9 liters last year amid an economic downturn.
In the 2009-2013 period, the country's wine consumption is expected to soar 33.8
percent, Vinexpo said.
South Korea imported 684,000 cases of 9 liters of wine from Chile in 2008, a
nearly three-fold jump from 2004, replacing France as the top exporter of wine to
the country.
Wine shipped from France rose 19.06 percent to 609,000 cases of 9 liters during
the same period, trailed by Italy with 387,000 cases and the United States with
345,000 cases.
The world's wine consumption is forecast to rise 3.57 percent from 2009 to 2.7
billion 9-liter cases in 2013. It rose 5.6 percent from 2004 to 2.62 billion
9-liter cases in 2008, according to the fair organizer.
Beynat was in Seoul to promote Vinexpo's Asia-Pacific wine exhibition, which will
take place in Hong Kong on Oct. 25-27.
The wine fair is expected to bring together some 750 exhibitors from 30 countries
worldwide and more than 9,000 professional visitors including importers and
sommeliers, Vinexpo said.
jia@yna.co.kr
(END)

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