Imports of cheese products in the first 11 months rose 14.2 percent to 88,282 tons from the same period last year, the Korea Customs Service reported Friday.
U.S. cheese products accounted for 67.3 percent of the total imports, compared with 10 percent for New Zealand, 5.5 percent for Australia, 4.7 percent for Germany, 4 percent for France and 2.7 percent for the Netherlands.
In particular, imports of New Zealand cheese products plunged 60.8 percent year-on-year in the January-November period as New Zealand products were replaced with cheaper ones from the United States.
Imports of wine inched up 0.2 percent to 29,287 kiloliters in the first 11 months from a year earlier, according to the report.
Red wine took the lion's share of 67.1 percent, compared with 22.1 percent for white wine and 10.2 percent for sparkling wine.
The customs office said: "Imports of wine have risen steadily since 2011. As the number of wine lovers has increased, imports of cheese products as well as wine will continue to rise."
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