Bananas have topped the list as the most-consumed fruit in South Korea over the past decade according to government data released on 9 July, the Global Post reports.
Korea Customs Service data shows that banana shipments reached 368,000 tonnes in 2012, comprising 48.7 per cent of the nation’s total fruit imports.
This marked the tenth consecutive year that banana outranked its competitors as Korean consumers preferred product.
The Philippines was by far the primary banana supplier, with approximately 98.7 per cent of Korea’s total banana imports for 2012 provided by the southeast Asian nation.
For 2012, the country also imported 174,000 tonnes of oranges, 73,000 tonnes of pineapples, 59,000 tonnes of grapes and 29,000 tonnes of kiwifruit. Alongside banana, these products comprised 93.1 per cent of the country’s total imports of 2012.
Chile accounted for approximately 79.9 per cent of Korea’s grape imports, while New Zealand provided around 69.6 per cent of kiwifruit imports.
Korea’s total fruit imports for 2012 came to 754,000 tonnes, worth 1.3tn won (US$1.1bn).
