South Korea: Grain and Feed Update

The Republic of Korea (ROK)'s stable grain and feed market continues to deliver as a top 4 destination for U.S. exports of wheat, corn, DDGS, and rice. In MY 2025/26, domestic wheat production growth stalled despite government incentives, while U.S. wheat imports surged to a record 2.2 MMT in MY 2024/25 with 51 percent market share on competitive prices and demand from instant noodle manufacturing. Soaring ROK purchases of U.S. corn contributed to record U.S. corn exports globally in MY 2024/25 and will carry into 2026. Current year rice production has declined in line with planned acreage reductions, compounded by weather and disease challenges, as the government continues to devise policies to manage chronic rice oversupply. Although the ROK filled all tenders for the 2025 allocation of U.S. rice imports under its WTO tariff rate quota (TRQ), the suspension of U.S. table rice distribution to consumers will hit the 2-year mark in November 2025.