The British daily on Monday said, "South Korea imports more kimchi than it exports, and the gap has widened as cheaper Chinese-made products take hold in the domestic market."
Figures from the Korea Customs Service show this trend, with kimchi imports totaling US$159.46 million during the first 10 months of this year, up 3.1 percent from a year earlier. Exports also increased, but imports grew faster, resulting in a trade deficit of $22.07 million, more than 10 percent higher than last year.
If this trend continues, total kimchi exports this year appear on track to set a new record for the second consecutive year.
Chinese-made kimchi currently sells for about 1,700 Korean won (about $1.15) per kilogram, less than half the roughly 3,600 won charged for South Korean kimchi. The Guardian pointed out that many South Korean kimchi makers often have a few staff, making it difficult for them to compete with Chinese factories in mass production.
One owner who has run a kimchi factory in Incheon for more than 30 years told the daily that many local restaurants "have abandoned his product in favor of lower-priced imports" from China.
To address this, the government plans to step up monitoring of violations of country-of-origin labeling for imported kimchi, while also implementing support measures to help domestic kimchi makers.
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