10 Most Produced Agricultural Commodities From South Korea

10 South Korea’s Most Produced Agricultural Commodities in 2022

 

10 South Korea’s Most Produced Agricultural Commodities- According to FAO Statistical Corporate Database (FAOSTAT), there are 10 South Korea’s most produced agricultural commodities in 2022. These commodities have huge production and can be used to fulfil South Korea’s human population.

South Korea is one of the most developed countries in Asia. This country has many leading industrial products including electronic products, automotive, and many technological products.  Demographically, this country has more than 51 million people with Total GDP of around USD 2.9 trillion and GDP per capita around USD 56,708 according to the IMF database.  Specifically, based on its contribution, service and industries still became the economic drivers in South Korea. The contribution of service and industries was 58.3% and 39.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, the agriculture sector just contributed around 2.2% of South Korea’s GDP (CIA, 2018).

Agriculture in this country just contributes small amounts, but the contribution of this sector cannot be ignored. The role of the agriculture sector is to supply the basic source of food for all humans of the world. So, it also helps to influence human development and intelligence by providing nutritional food. Furthermore, agriculture sectors still give the raw material to other sectors.

Here is the rank of 10 South Korea’s most produced agricultural commodities in 2022. All the data came from FAO Statistical Corporate Database (FAOSTAT) in 2024.

 

The Rank of 10 South Korea’s Most Produced Agricultural Commodities in 2022

Rank	Agricultural Commodities from South Korea	Production of Agricultural Commodities from South Korea in 2022
		(Tons)
1	Rice	4,998,223
2	Cabbages	2,428,894
3	Raw milk of cattle	1,975,414
4	Meat of pig	1,419,000
5	Onions and shallots	1,195,563
6	Meat of chickens, fresh or chilled	930,000
7	Hen eggs in shell, fresh	753,068
8	Tangerines, mandarins, clementines	650,472
9	Potatoes	586,826
10	Apples	566,041
Source: FAOSTAT, 2024

 

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Brief Description of 10 South Korea’s Most Produced Agricultural Commodities

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1. Rice  

Rice still became the most produced agricultural commodities from South Korea in 2022. According to FAO Statistical Corporate Database (FAOSTAT), the production of rice from South Korea reached 4,998,223 tons. Geographically, in South Korea, there are some main cultivation areas of paddy in South Korea. The growing areas of paddy spread across Jeonnam, Chungnam, Jeonbuk, Gyeongbuk, Gyeonggi, Gyeongnam. Furthermore, rice is still the staple food in South Korea with average consumption around 56 kg per capita per year.  Functionally, it can be served in a bowl and can be processed into alcoholic beverages, and it is called “Makkoli”.

 

2. Cabbage        

Cabbage will be the most produced vegetable in South Korea in 2022. According to FAO Statistical Corporate Database (FAOSTAT), the production of Cabbage from South Korea reached 2,428,894 tons in 2022.  Geographically, the main production areas of cabbage can be found in several regions.  The locations of cabbage in South Korea are located in Pyeongchang, Taebaek, Gochang, Muan, Haenam, and Jeju Island (Jae et al., 2012). Culturally, Cabbage is used in many dishes, including kimchi (a traditional fermented vegetable dish) with average consumption around 47.1 kilograms per capita per year.

 

3. Milk of Cattle

Milk of cattle also becomes one of the most consumed beverages in South Korea.  The production of milk of cattle from South Korea reached 1,975,414 tons. In South Korea, there are more than around 5,400 dairy farms and Gangwon-do province still becomes one of the main production areas of cattle’s milk (Kim et al., 2017). Furthermore, there are some dairy leading companies in South Korea which have a large market share of dairy products, namely Seoul Milk, Binggrae, Namyang Dairy Products, and Maeil Dairies (Ha-Won, 2022).

 

4. Meat of Pig   

Pig meat became one of the most consumed meats in South Korea, and it was used to fulfil the need of proteins. According to FAO Statistical Corporate Database (FAOSTAT), the production of pig meat from South Korea reached 1,419,000 tons in 2022. Based on the agricultural conditions, In South Korea, pork is fourth-largest farming sector of agriculture after rice (Oh and Whitley, 2011). Many South Korean cuisines used the pig as main ingredients, namely Galmaegisal, Moksal, Daeji galbi, Hanjeongsik, Ogyeopsal, Dwaeji galbi, Jeyuk bokkeum, Jokbal, and Bossam.

 

5. Onion and Shallots   

Onion and Shallots are a huge production in this country. In South Korea, the production of onion and shallot reached 1,195,563 tons. Geographically, Short-day onion is mainly produced in Jeju and Geogeum Island and Intermediate-day onion production is located in southern Korea (Lee et al., 2020). Based on its consumption, Onions are an important ingredient in Korean cuisine and many Korean people consume around 40 kg per capita per year.

 

6. Meat of Chicken        

Statistically, the production of meat of chicken in South Korea reached 930,000 tons in 2022 according to FAO Statistical Corporate Database (FAOSTAT). Geographically, the main regions of chicken raised spread across Jeollabuk-do (North Jeolla), Chungcheongnam-do (South Chungcheong), Gyeonggi-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do (North Gyeongsang), and Jeollanam-do (South Jeolla). Culturally, chicken meat is used as main ingredients in some South Korean Cuisines, namely Dakjuk, Andong jjimdak, Samgyetang, Dakbokkeumtang, Dak Galbi, and Chikin.

 

 7. Hen Eggs

Statistically, in 2022, the production of hen’s eggs from South Korea reached 753,067 tons. Commonly, Eggs are a popular food in South Korea, and are often eaten hard-boiled for breakfast, lunch, or as a snack. Based on cooking, there is a popular Korean egg dish, namely “gyeranjjim:, which is made by whisking eggs with water and salt, and then steaming them in a pot.

 

 8. Tangerines, Mandarins, Clementines

Tangerine, Mandarins, Clementines is one of the most produced fruits in South Korea. Statistically, the production of Tangerines, Mandarins, Clementines reached 650,472 tons.  These fruits can be found mainly in Jeju Island, contributing 90% of domestic tangerine production in South Korea.

 

 

9. Potatoes       

In South Korea, the production of Potatoes reached 584,826 tons. Geographically, as of 2022, according to Statistics Korea, total cultivated areas of potatoes reached 13 thousand hectares in 2022 with the main cultivation of spring potatoes located in Gyeongbuk (60,091 tons), Chungnam (56,963 tons), Gangwon (53,969 tons), Jeonnam (53,720 tons), and Gyeonggi (33,660 tons) (Statistics Korea, 2023).

 

 10. Apples           

Apples in this country have production of around 566,041 tons. Statistically, according to Statistics Korea, until 2023, total cultivated area of apples reached 33,911 ha. Furthermore, the main production areas of apples in South Korea located in Gyeongbuk (20,151 ha), Gyeongnam (3,768 ha), Chungbuk (3,753 ha), Jeonbuk (2,230 ha), and Gangwon (1,679 ha).  Most of the apple fruits in this country are served as dessert.

 

The Summary of 10 South Korea’s Most Produced Agricultural Commodities

 The Histogram Rank of 10 South Korea’s Most Produced Agricultural Commodities

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Bibliography of 10 South Korea’s Most Produced Agricultural Commodities

FAOSTAT. 2023. Top 10 Commodities Production in the Republic of Korea 2021. Available at: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#rankings/commodities_by_country

International Monetary Fund (IMF). 2023. World Economic Outlook Database (South Korea). Available at : https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October/weo-report?c=542,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2020&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1

FAOSTAT. 2023. Top 10 Commodities Production in the Republic of Korea 2021. Available at: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#rankings/commodities_by_country

CIA.THE WORLD FACTBOOK (South Korea). Available at : https://web.archive.org/web/20210129003620/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/korea-south/#economy

Jee, S. N., Malhotra, S., Roh, E. J., Jung, K. S., Lee, D. W., Choi, J. H., … & Heu, S. G. (2012). Isolation of Bacteriophages Which Can Infect Pectobacteirum carotovorum subsp. carotovorum. Research in Plant Disease, 18(3), 225-230.

Ha-Won, H. 2022. Seoul Milk takes independent action, begins ‘milk inflation’? Available at: https://www.sisajournal-e.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=287906

Kim, I. S., Hur, Y. K., Kim, E. J., Ahn, Y. T., Kim, J. G., Choi, Y. J., & Huh, C. S. (2017). Comparative analysis of the microbial communities in raw milk produced in different regions of Korea. Asian-Australasian journal of animal sciences, 30(11), 1643.

Lee, J., Moon, J. S., Kim, J., Park, G. O., Kwon, J. H., Ha, I. J., … & Chang, Y. H. (2020). Evaluation of onion cultivars as affected by bulb maturity and bulb characteristics of intermediate-day yellow onions in South Korea. The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, 95(5), 645-660.

Oh, S. H., & Whitley, N. C. (2011). Pork production in China, Japan and South Korea. Asian-Australasian journal of animal sciences, 24(11), 1629-1636.

Statistics Korea. Production of Spring Potatoes in 2023. Available at https://kostat.go.kr/board.es?mid=a20102060000&bid=11712&act=view&list_no=427199.

Statistics Korea. 2023. Cultivated Area of Barley, Spring Potatoes, Apples and Pears in 2023. Available at https://kostat.go.kr/board.es?mid=a20102020000&bid=11707&act=view&list_no=426301 .

Park, Y., & Cho, S. (2012). Watermelon production and breeding in South Korea. Israel Journal of Plant Sciences, 60(4), 415-423.