S. Korea's beer imports surge on demand for more diversity

SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korea's beer imports surged more than 20 percent in the first four months of the year on consumers' increased demand for more diverse products from Europe and Japan, a report showed Wednesday.
According to the report by the Korea Customs Service, South Korea imported beer worth US$15.4 million during the January-April period, up 21.5 percent from a year earlier.
The customs office said this year's beer imports may top $50 million, which would be up from $43.8 million last year.
South Korea imported beer worth $4.73 million from Japan in the first four months of the year, up 37 percent from a year earlier. The report also showed that South Korea imported beer worth $2.43 million from the Netherlands, down 17 percent from a year earlier.
Imports from the U.S. and Ireland amounted to $1.63 million and $1.43 million, respectively, according to the customs agency.