Korea Customs said Monday that ice cream exports in the first half of 2023 rose 19.8 percent from the previous year to $59 million. That's a 168.2 percent increase compared with a decade ago.

The increase in export value was accompanied by an increase in the number of exports, with about 18,000 tons of ice cream exported in the first half of the year, equivalent to about 240 million ice cream sticks.

In the first half of this year, Korean ice cream was exported to 49 countries, setting a record for the highest number of export destinations in the same period. The U.S. became a major consumer of Korean ice cream, with imports amounting to $19 million, or 31.6 percent of total imports.

The customs office explained, "The surge in demand for Korean ice cream can be attributed to an unprecedented global heat wave and the growing popularity of the Korean wave, Korean dramas and other aspects of Korean culture."

In second place was China with 12.2%. Notably, China, which had previously topped the top five importers of Korean ice cream, made a strong comeback after dropping in the rankings last year due to the impact of the epidemic.

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Other major importers include the Philippines (10.3%), Canada (8.4%) and Vietnam (5.1%). However, the European market remains challenging due to regulations banning the export of Korean dairy ice cream to the EU.

In the United States, Binggrae's Melona emerged as the best-selling product, accounting for about 70% of US ice cream exports. Between 2009 and 2021 alone, Melona sales amounted to $250 million. The increase in sales can be attributed to local production and distribution through the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) process, such as Costco.

In Vietnam, Binggrae's Samanco is popular as a premium ice cream product, with annual sales of more than 6 million servings, while Lotte Wellfood's Snow Ice is also popular in China.

But the domestic market also faces challenges.

Korea Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Trade (aT) reported that the size of the domestic ice cream market declined by 3.7% from the previous year to KRW 1.3 trillion (USD 1 billion) in 2022. This ongoing trend has declined by an average of 6.1% per year since 2018, partly due to the decline of children and teenagers, a major consumer group. The downward trend in fertility is evident in South Korea, where the country reported a natural decline in population, with only 18,988 babies born in May, a decrease of 5.3% from the previous year.

In addition, increased consumer health awareness, which has led to a preference for lower sweetness and alternative sweeteners, has also contributed to the decline in ice cream sales in the country.

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Other Trade Data References to Korea: South Korea Import & Export Data