South Korea's Kimchi Trade Gap Widens as Cheaper Chinese Imports Rise

Record exports meet a growing import bill

South Korea exported US$137.4 million worth of kimchi in the first ten months of 2025, yet its bill for imported kimchi reached US$159.46 million. Official customs figures through October put the trade deficit at US$22.07 million, larger than in the same period a year earlier. Exports increased 2 percent, while imports grew 3.1 percent.

As of November 24, South Korea expected overseas kimchi sales to reach another annual record in 2025. Growing international interest in Korean cuisine has helped producers sell more abroad. At home, however, restaurants and caterers have increasingly relied on cheaper products from China, which supplies virtually all the country's imported kimchi.

Kimchi is therefore moving in two directions at once: Korean producers are building overseas markets, while domestic businesses are buying large amounts from Chinese factories. A trade deficit means the country spends more on imports of a product than it earns from exporting that product. Rising exports can still leave a larger deficit when the import bill grows faster.

Price is the main force behind the gap. Inflation and a sharp rise in domestic cabbage costs after extreme weather in 2024 made Chinese kimchi much cheaper for businesses serving meals. Most imported kimchi goes into restaurants and catering rather than household kitchens.

South Korea's challenge is to keep a familiar food affordable while supporting the farmers and producers who make it domestically. The same dish is also a cultural symbol and an export product, making the debate about its supply more sensitive than a simple comparison of prices.

How the trade gap developed

South Korea recorded a brief kimchi trade surplus in 2021, when imports fell during a widely publicized sanitation controversy in China. A surplus means export earnings exceed import spending. The country then returned to deficits for three consecutive years, with another gap accumulating in 2025.

In 2024, kimchi imports reached a record US$189.86 million, while exports also set a record at US$163.57 million. The stated shortfall for that year was US$22.69 million, almost three times the US$7.98 million deficit in 2023. There is an unresolved arithmetic discrepancy in those figures: the stated import and export totals yield a difference of US$26.29 million.

The rise in imports was especially strong early in 2025. During the first quarter, import value increased 16.7 percent from a year earlier to US$47.56 million. Import volume rose 10.1 percent to 80,970 tons. From January through May, imports totaled 137,783 tons and US$79.88 million.

The main stages of the trade story show how a temporary surplus gave way to renewed import growth:

• 2021: Imports dipped during a sanitation controversy in China, and South Korea recorded a brief surplus.
• 2022: Chinese kimchi imports averaged about US$643 per ton, compared with about US$3,425 per ton for Korean kimchi exports.
• 2023: The kimchi trade deficit stood at US$7.98 million.
• 2024: Both import and export values reached records, while import volume crossed 300,000 tons.
• January to October 2025: Imports reached US$159.46 million and exports US$137.4 million, with the reported deficit at US$22.07 million.

The 2025 figures cover ten months, while the 2024 totals cover a full year. South Korea's expectation of another export record was therefore still a forecast on November 24, rather than a completed annual result.

Why the price difference matters

Chinese kimchi's price advantage is large. In 2022, its average import price of about US$643 per ton was less than one fifth of the US$3,425 per ton average price earned by Korean kimchi exports. Those figures describe two trade flows: kimchi entering South Korea and Korean kimchi being sold abroad.

Domestic ingredient costs have added pressure. Statistics Korea reported double digit increases in kimchi prices for months, while napa cabbage prices rose by more than 15 percent from a year earlier in April. Retail data showed the average price of a single head of cabbage above 5,400 won during parts of the year.

Napa cabbage and radish are basic ingredients in many kimchi styles. When their prices rise, producers face higher costs before processing, packaging or delivery. Buyers then encounter that pressure in the price of the finished food.

Wholesale price comparisons in 2025 showed the choices facing restaurant owners. One mart serving wholesale buyers offered 10 kilograms of Chinese kimchi for about 13,800 won, against about 40,500 won for a similar quantity of domestic kimchi. Another retailer listed Chinese products at 14,200 won and Korean brands at 35,800 won.

Those comparisons put the potential saving from switching to imported kimchi at roughly 60 to 65 percent. For a small eatery buying kimchi repeatedly, the difference affects the cost of serving meals every day.

Restaurants are the main buyers

Restaurants and catering businesses account for most imported kimchi consumption. Their purchasing decisions help explain why imports can rise even while Korean kimchi gains recognition overseas.

A study by the World Institute of Kimchi reported in 2016 that nearly 90 percent of the kimchi purchased by South Korean restaurants came from China. That figure describes restaurant purchases at the time of the study. The tendency to choose imports has strengthened during periods of tight domestic supply and higher ingredient costs.

Diners are less likely to check the origin of side dishes, leaving restaurants with room to make purchasing decisions chiefly around affordability. Businesses buying large quantities can reduce their kimchi spending substantially through the price differences visible at wholesale retailers.

Household kitchens and commercial kitchens therefore play different roles in this story. The bulk of imports serves businesses preparing meals, while Korean producers also seek buyers willing to pay more for domestic products, including customers abroad.

Weather and exchange rates add pressure

Abnormal weather affected cabbage fields across successive seasons. An unusually warm fall was followed by a cold winter, heavy snow and late cold snaps. Highland crops grown in summer also faced heat waves.

Production shortfalls pushed up the prices of napa cabbage and radish. Some prices stabilized in recent months, but the earlier increases had already moved through the kimchi supply chain. Producers buying expensive ingredients faced higher costs that could reach restaurants and other customers later.

The dollar's strength against the won added another layer of pressure. When an import is priced in dollars, a buyer needs more won to pay the same dollar amount if the won weakens. That raises the bill in Korean currency even when the quantity purchased stays unchanged.

Early 2025 figures showed import value growing faster than tonnage: 16.7 percent against 10.1 percent in the first quarter. A stronger dollar also increased the value of imports measured in won, adding to the burden on domestic buyers.

Officials have signaled measures to steady supply, including support for small kimchi producers to store cabbage when prices are low and closer management of summer cabbage supplies. Storage gives producers access to ingredients bought earlier, helping them cope when fresh supplies become scarce or expensive.

China's supply chain reaches Korean tables

South Korea imported about 310,000 tons of kimchi in 2024, with China accounting for 99.98 percent of those shipments. That near total share makes Chinese production central to the supply of affordable kimchi for Korean restaurants and caterers.

Large production hubs in eastern China have built close connections with Korean buyers. Industry accounts describe Renzhao, a town in Shandong Province, as the source of a large share of South Korea's imported kimchi.

Producers there have upgraded processing, adjusted products to match Korean tastes and developed refrigerated transport and storage to keep kimchi crisp. This refrigerated system is known as a cold chain. A green channel for customs clearance helps shipments move more quickly to Korean ports.

The China Korea free trade agreement, in force since late 2015, has also eased trade in processed foods. When domestic cabbage harvests faltered in earlier years, tariff adjustments and large orders from Chinese suppliers helped keep restaurant tables stocked.

Low prices are therefore supported by an established production and delivery network. Chinese factories, refrigerated logistics and Korean commercial buyers form a supply chain that can respond when domestic crops fall short.

Export growth varies across markets

South Korean kimchi exports reached a record US$163.57 million in 2024. Sales of US$137.4 million through October 2025, up 2 percent from a year earlier, put another annual record within reach as global interest in Korean food continued.

Japan remained the largest destination. Purchases reached about US$47.55 million in the first ten months of 2025, an increase of 4.4 percent. The United States bought US$36.01 million, down 5.8 percent after several years of rapid growth.

Other markets showed a mixed picture. Exports to the Netherlands fell 3.3 percent to US$7.97 million. Canada rose 17.6 percent to US$7.63 million, while Australia recorded a modest increase to US$6.68 million.

Canada's growth and Japan's larger purchases helped support export momentum despite declines in the United States and the Netherlands. The market figures show why a rise in total exports can include both expanding and shrinking destinations.

Agriculture Minister Song Mi ryung described the government's aim as developing kimchi into an export sector while strengthening its international identity:

We will work to develop the kimchi industry into a future oriented export sector and help solidify kimchi's place as a global food brand.

Producers are responding by directing premium lines toward export markets and developing products focused on value for domestic food service. Those approaches reflect the different prices and priorities of buyers abroad and businesses serving meals at home.

Cultural identity meets trade rules

Kimchi carries meaning beyond its sales value. Kimjang, the seasonal tradition of making kimchi, is listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. For many Koreans, the dish is a marker of identity, which helps explain the passionate debate that changes in sourcing can trigger.

In 2020, new ISO rules for Chinese pao cai caused confusion after some media accounts suggested they applied to kimchi. South Korean authorities clarified that the ISO document excluded kimchi and pointed to international food standards for kimchi adopted in 2001.

The dispute concerned the scope of a food standard as well as the cultural identity attached to the dish. Authorities' clarification placed kimchi under its existing international standard, rather than the new rules for pao cai.

Trade rules also affect the relationship between the two countries' producers. Korean kimchi exports to China remain minimal because of strict Chinese rules on pickled goods, even as Chinese products dominate South Korea's imports.

Supporting supply without losing affordability

South Korea faces a balance between price relief for food businesses and support for domestic farmers and kimchi producers. Measures under discussion include larger reserves of cabbage and radish, financing to expand refrigerated storage and programs to stabilize supplies in summer and winter.

Reserves and storage address a practical problem: crops arrive seasonally, but restaurants need kimchi throughout the year. Keeping ingredients available across periods of shortage can reduce producers' exposure to sudden price increases.

Tighter origin labeling and broader use of HACCP quality systems can also help maintain consumer trust regardless of where kimchi is made. Origin labels identify where a product comes from. HACCP is a system for identifying food safety risks and controlling them during production.

A recovery in cabbage supply and cooler inflation could narrow the price difference between domestic and imported kimchi. For now, Chinese imports retain a strong cost advantage, while Korean exporters continue to seek growth through products aimed at overseas buyers.

As of November 24, the market was defined by two developments happening together: strong export momentum and China's near total share of imported kimchi. The government's supply measures and producers' different strategies for domestic and overseas customers address both sides of that pressure.

Key Points

• Through October 2025, kimchi exports reached US$137.4 million, up 2 percent, while imports rose 3.1 percent to US$159.46 million.
• The reported deficit for the first ten months was US$22.07 million, larger than a year earlier.
• Both import and export values reached records in 2024, and imports totaled about 310,000 tons.
• The stated 2024 deficit of US$22.69 million contains an unresolved mismatch with the stated import and export totals.
• China supplied 99.98 percent of imported kimchi in 2024, with most going to restaurants and catering businesses.
• Wholesale comparisons showed potential savings of roughly 60 to 65 percent from choosing Chinese kimchi.
• Weather damage, higher ingredient prices and a stronger dollar added pressure to domestic purchasing costs.
• Japan remained the largest export market through October 2025; Canada grew, while the United States and the Netherlands declined.
• Officials signaled supply support, while reserves, storage financing, origin labeling and food safety systems formed part of the policy discussion.