Korea: Import prices of frozen, dried, salted or in brine Poulp squid downed

In 2016, cephalopod exports from Vietnam to South Korea also increased by 1.1% to US$165.6 million. Although Korea is still the largest importer of squid and octopus from Vietnam, the growth rate in exports to the market seems to slow down.

Imports of frozen, dried, salted or in brine Poulp squid into South Korea in the first 11 months of 2016 was almost equal to the volume of the same period in 2015. However, the average import price of the item declined compared to that of 2015 and 2014. Average import price of frozen, dried, salted or in brine Poulp squid in the first 11 months of 2016 ranged from US$4 to US$4.6/kg.

In the first 11 months of 2016, China was the largest supplier of frozen, dried, salted or in brine Poulp squid to the Korean market. Vietnam ranked the second, however, the average export price from Vietnam reached the highest. Thailand ranked the third, followed by Indonesia and Malaysia. The export volume of this item by China reached over 25,000 MT, while the remaining 4 countries exported less than 4,000 MT, although the average export price of these four countries were much higher than that of China.

In 2016, China was the leading supplier of cephalopod to Korea with a volume of 65,103 MT. Chile ranked the second and Vietnam ranked the third with export volume of 26,335 MT.