Beer sales are soaring this summer as South Korean drinkers strive to fight the choking heat wave gripping the Korean Peninsula for weeks, industry data showed Friday.
Local drinkers have shown particular enthusiasm towards imported beers this year due to the options of various flavors and a flurry of discount events, they said.
Discount and convenience stores nationwide reported a steep jump in sales of imported beers, compared with far slower sales growth of mostly lager-dominated domestic beers.
E-Mart, the nation's largest discount chain, said sales of foreign beer brands soared 27.2 percent on-year in July, marking double-digit growth this year except May.
Their growth far surpassed those of other alcoholic beverages, including domestic beers (9.8 percent), imported spirits (11.3 percent), soju (9.3 percent), and wine (1.6 percent).
Homegrown brands have seen sales dropping in the first five months of this year and rebounding in June, though they still lagged behind growth of foreign beers, E-Mart said.
Imported beers also enjoyed high popularity at convenience stores.
CU, the nation's leading convenience store franchise, said revenue from imported beers jumped 35.9 percent on-year in July, beating domestic beers' 9.2 percent hike.
The firm said sales of foreign brands grew 48.3 percent and 38.5 percent in the first and second quarters, respectively, while domestic beers grew 3.7 percent and 7.5 percent over the same period.
"More consumers prefer various kinds of imported beer, thinking domestic beers are not delicious," an industry official said.
"Imported beers' discounts have also reduced price gaps with domestic beers."
Buoyed by rising popularity, beer imports reached a record 170,919 tons worth $142 million in 2015, and also rose to the highest level in the first half, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT). (Yonhap)
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