South Korea cheese market

South Korea is the fourth largest cheese market in Asia-Pacific. Zenith puts consumption at more than 170,000 tonnes in 2025, or more than 3 kg per person.

Zenith expects consumption to grow by around 1% a year to 2030, passing 180,000 tonnes.

South Korea imports more than 85% of the cheese it consumes, with mozzarella for pizza and foodservice at the centre of demand. Processed cheese is also important, and tariff-rate quotas under free trade agreements shape which suppliers win share.

The Zenith Global Cheese Database 2026 covers South Korea with production, imports, exports and consumption for 39 cheese types, actuals from 2020 to 2025 and forecasts to 2030. Volume data covers totals, broad categories and separately measured cheese types, in tonnes. Consumer retail value covers total cheese only, in local currency and USD; import and export trade values cover HS 0406 total only, in USD. Monetary values are not broken down by individual cheese type or broad category. Retail shelf prices cover total cheese and five broad categories: hard and semi-hard, fresh, mould, processed, and other non-specified cheese, in local currency/kg and USD/kg, not individual prices for all 39 cheese types. Import and export unit prices cover HS 0406 total and available HS subheadings, in USD/kg. Retail value is estimated retail volume multiplied by regular shelf prices, including sales tax. Trade values are customs values, using CIF for imports and FOB for exports. Production is measured as formally manufactured cheese.