South Korea Sugar Market - Forecasts from 2022 to 2027

The South Korea sugar market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.07% over the forecast period to reach US$709.859 million by 2027 from US$536.759 million in 2020. Sugar has high applicability in the food & beverage sector as a preservative, flavoring & coloring agent, and sweetener among others. Major factors such as population growth, economic development, and bolstering growth of the food & beverage sector are driving the growth of the sugar industry in South Korea. For instance, according to the World Bank, in 2021, South Korea’s population stood at 51.74 million which represented a 1.5% increase over 2015’s population figure of 51 million. Moreover, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, South Korea’s domestic sugar consumption for the marketing year 2021-2020 stood at 1.68 million tons which represented a 4.3% increase over 1.61 million tons in 2020-2021. However, various initiatives by the South Korean government to reduce sugar consumption is anticipated to hamper the market growth during the forecast period.

Based on industry vertical, the South Korea Sugar market is segmented as food & beverage and pharmaceutical. The food & beverage sector is expected to grow at a significant rate during the forecast period of the South Korea sugar market, owing to the rapid increase in processed food consumption. For instance, according to the 2021 annual survey conducted by South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on 2,193 households, it was reported that weekly consumption of processed food by household saw a significant growth of 23.7% in comparison to 2020’s weekly consumption scale, thereby representing an overall increase of 3.1%. Sugar is added to processed food for providing flavor, color, and texture, and with the increase in the consumption of processed food, the market demand for sugar is also expected to increase in the future, thereby augmenting the overall market growth during the forecast period.

The growing establishment of supermarkets will positively impact the sugar market in South Korea. South Korea is witnessing significant growth in its supermarket establishment to increase access to food and grocery items to people. For instance, Seoul-based grocery hypermarket franchise operator Homeplus announced in December 2021, to establish new supermarket chains in South Korea. Sugar being an important food ingredient is highly demanded in home-cooked and processed food, and such establishment of supermarkets has provided a positive outlook towards the demand for major grocery items such as sugar in South Korea.

Covid 19

The lockdown restrictions to prevent the widespread COVID pandemic had a minimal impact on the sugar industry in South Korea as there was a marginal decrease in domestic sugar consumption witnessed in the country. For instance, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, in 2020, sugar consumption in South Korea stood at 1.61 million tons which showed a decrease of 0.6% in comparison to 1.62 million tons consumed in 2019. With the ease in lockdown restriction, the consumption scale is projected to increase thereby simultaneously boosting the market growth.

Market Segmentation:

By Type

• White Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Confectioner Sugar
• Cane Sugar
• Others

By Crop

• Sugarcane
• Sugar beets

By Form

• Liquid
• Solid

By Distribution Channel

• Online
• Offline

By Application

• Preservative
• Texture Modifier
• Sweetener
• Flavoring & Coloring Agent
• Bulking Agent
• Others

By Industry Vertical

• Food & Beverage
• Pharmaceutical