More demand of Squid in South Korea

As of May, South Korea imported a total of 538,472 tons of seafood, including 8,475 tons of frozen squid tubes, compared with 2,766 tons in May, an increase of 30% from 2,133 tons in the previous year. Cumulative imports as of May were 8,475 tons, up 10 percent from 7,706 tons in the previous year.

From 2017 to 2022, the average import volume of squid tubes in South Korea in May was 2,507 tons, of which 12,525 tons of frozen squid tubes were imported in 2018, which was the best year. It fell to 6,008 tonnes in 2019, the worst year for the period.

The main suppliers of frozen squid tubes are China, Peru, Chile and Argentina. China was the largest supplier with 73% of the total (6,225 tonnes), Peru 17% (1,482 tonnes) and Chile 8% (683 tonnes).

Imports of frozen squid tubes were US$4.51 million in this May, up 39% from US$3.25 million last year. The cumulative import was 13.72 million US dollars from this January to May, an increase of 8% over last year's 12.65 million US dollars.

The average unit price of imports in May was US$1.63/kg, up 7.1% from US$1.52/kg last year.