Popularity of instant rice products are rising steadily in South Korea despite sharp drops in overall consumption of the staple grain, industry data showed Sunday.
Sales figures by E-Mart, the country's largest hypermarket chain, showed demand for rice dropped 14 percent on-year in the January-August period of this year, but sales for ready to eat products jumped 17 percent.
The company, in particular, said sales of so-called home meal replacement (HMR) products that are very easy to prepare surged 44 percent on-year. HMRs sold here have rice, assortments of soups, and fried sides and main dishes.
(CJ Cheiljedang)
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