Imported Beer Cries Despite "4 Cans for 10,000 Won" Deal

Beer imports decline for 2 consecutive years, Japanese beer import value drops 80%
Craft beer market steadily grows, surpasses 100 billion won in 2 years

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Beer imports have decreased for the second consecutive year. This is analyzed to be due to craft beer taking the place of imported beer and a boycott movement reducing imports of Japanese beer.

According to trade statistics from the Korea International Trade Association and the Korea Customs Service on the 14th, last year’s beer import value was $226.92 million (approximately 250.3 billion KRW), down 19.2% from the previous year ($280.89 million). Beer import value peaked at $309.68 million in 2018, then declined to $280.89 million in 2019, and further to $226.92 million last year. In particular, imports of Japanese beer dropped sharply by 85.7% year-on-year to $5.668 million due to the boycott movement.

Imports of Japanese beers such as Asahi, Sapporo, and Kirin peaked at $78.3 million in 2018, then plunged to $39.756 million in 2019, and decreased further last year. This is because the Japanese government implemented export restrictions on Korea in August 2019, which triggered a boycott of Japanese products including Japanese beer domestically. Japanese beer also fell from first place in import volume rankings in 2018 to ninth place within two years.

On the other hand, the domestic craft beer market has been steadily growing. According to the Korea Craft Beer Association, the craft beer market size nearly doubled from 63.3 billion KRW in 2018 to 118 billion KRW last year. The share of craft beer in total beer sales also rose from 1.4% in 2018 to 2.95% last year. The number of licensed craft beer producers reached 154 last year, the highest since the first license was issued in 2002.

For craft beer company Jeju Maekju, last year’s sales reached 32 billion KRW, more than doubling compared to the previous year. This is the highest annual sales since its launch. When converted to 500ml cans, Jeju Maekju’s total beer shipments last year amounted to about 20 million cans sold over the year. Sales increased across all channels. Home channel sales tripled, and sales in entertainment channels grew by 1.3 times. Jeju Maekju plans to complete the expansion of its Jeju brewery within the first quarter of this year. After expansion, the annual beer production capacity will be 20 million liters.

A representative from a craft beer company explained, "The decisive factor behind domestic beer’s home channel sales share surpassing that of imported beer last year was the quality and variety of craft beer," adding, "Consumers’ considerations when purchasing beer are diversifying from simple price and brand to various tastes, quality, and philosophy." They further predicted, "This year marks the beginning of a full-fledged beer quality competition era, and the structure of the beer market, which has remained unchanged for decades, will be completely reorganized."