Product Description
Datamonitor's Cost Foodservice in South Korea industry profile is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the cost foodservice industry. It includes detailed data on market size and segmentation, plus textual and graphical analysis of the key trends and competitive landscape, leading companies and demographic information.

Scope

• Contains an executive summary and data on value, volume and/or segmentation
• Provides textual analysis of the industry’s recent performance and future prospects
• Incorporates in-depth five forces competitive environment analysis and scorecards
• Includes a five-year forecast of the industry
• The leading companies are profiled with supporting key financial metrics
• Supported by the key macroeconomic and demographic data affecting the market

Product Description
Datamonitor's Profit Foodservice in South Korea industry profile is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the profit foodservice industry. It includes detailed data on market size and segmentation, plus textual and graphical analysis of the key trends and competitive landscape, leading companies and demographic information.

Scope

• Contains an executive summary and data on value, volume and/or segmentation
• Provides textual analysis of the industry’s recent performance and future prospects
• Incorporates in-depth five forces competitive environment analysis and scorecards
• Includes a five-year forecast of the industry
• The leading companies are profiled with supporting key financial metrics
• Supported by the key macroeconomic and demographic data affecting the market

Product Description
This report analyses the market for hot drinks over the period 1998-2003 with forecasts to 2008. It is one in a series of 52 individual country titles investigating key sales trends, consumer expenditure and new product developments in the market. For the purposes of the study, the market has been divided into three sectors: coffee; tea; other hot drinks. Use these reports to pinpoint growth opportunities, measure brand and company shares and assess developments in distribution channels. ... Read more

Product Description
Datamonitor's Dairy in South Korea industry profile is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the Dairy industry. It includes detailed data on market size and segmentation, plus textual and graphical analysis of the key trends and competitive landscape, leading companies and demographic information.

Scope

• Contains an executive summary and data on value and segmentation
• Provides textual analysis of the industry’s recent performance and future prospects
• Incorporates in-depth five forces competitive environment analysis and scorecards
• Includes a five-year forecast of the industry
• The leading companies are profiled with supporting key financial metrics
• Supported by the key macroeconomic and demographic data affecting the market

Product Description
Datamonitor's Savory Snacks in South Korea industry profile is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the Savory Snacks industry. It includes detailed data on market size and segmentation, plus textual and graphical analysis of the key trends and competitive landscape, leading companies and demographic information.

Scope

• Contains an executive summary and data on value, volume and/or segmentation
• Provides textual analysis of the industry’s recent performance and future prospects
• Incorporates in-depth five forces competitive environment analysis and scorecards
• Includes a five-year forecast of the industry
• The leading companies are profiled with supporting key financial metrics
• Supported by the key macroeconomic and demographic data affecting the market

Product Description
Introduction This databook is a detailed information resource covering all the key data points on Confectionery in South Korea. It includes comprehensive value volume segmentation and market share data. The databook supplies actual data to 2005 and full forecasts to 2010. Scope Contains information on 4 categories: Chocolate, Gum, Sugar confectionery and Cereal bars. Provides market value, volume, expenditure and consumption data by market, segment and subsegment. Includes company and brand share data by category, as well as distribution channel data. Contains market value segmentation by demographic and socioeconomic group. Highlights The market for Confectionery in South Korea increased between 2000-2005, growing at an average annual rate of 3.3%. The leading company in the market in 2005 was Lotte Group. The second-largest player was Haitai Confectionery and Foods Company Ltd with Tong Yang in third place. Reasons to Purchase Discover the major quantitative trends affecting the Confectionery markets. Understand consumers' consumption and expenditure patterns. Understand the future direction of the market with reliable historical data and full five year forecasting. ... Read more

Product Description
On the demand side, exporters and strategic planners focusing on iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts in South Korea face a number of questions. Which countries are supplying iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts to South Korea? How important is South Korea compared to others in terms of the entire global and regional market? How much do the imports of iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts vary from one country of origin to another in South Korea? On the supply side, South Korea also exports iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts. Which countries receive the most exports from South Korea? How are these exports concentrated across buyers? What is the value of these exports and which countries are the largest buyers?

This report was created for strategic planners, international marketing executives and import/export managers who are concerned with the market for iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts in South Korea. With the globalization of this market, managers can no longer be contented with a local view. Nor can managers be contented with out-of-date statistics which appear several years after the fact. I have developed a methodology, based on macroeconomic and trade models, to estimate the market for iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts for those countries serving South Korea via exports, or supplying from South Korea via imports. It does so for the current year based on a variety of key historical indicators and econometric models.

In what follows, Chapter 2 begins by summarizing where South Korea fits into the world market for imported and exported iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts. The total level ... Read more

Product Description

First published in 1988, Bruce Cost's Asian Ingredients was immediately hailed as one of the most comprehensive and fascinating books on Asian foodstuffs ever written. Now fully revised and updated, Asian Ingredients offers a wealth of information on identifying and using the often unfamiliar ingredients in traditional bottled condiments. This book's clear black-and-white photographs make it easy to identify ingredients in your local supermarkets or Asian grocery, while Cost's carefully researched notes explain how to select, store, and cook with these wonderful foods. Cost also includes more than 130 simple recipes for sumptuous Asian specialties. Cooks can create the dramatic flavors of China, Japan, and southeast Asia in their own kitchens with this indispensable resource. 

Customer Reviews (9)

Cast iron wok
For Christmas i got a cast iron wok... which was really exciting. However, I don't cook a with Asian flavors, though i wanted to learn. So i ordered this book to get an idea of what flavors other than soy sauce and sesame oil there were. I was pleased to discover that this book goes into extensive detail about so MANY ingredients it kinda makes your head spin with possibilities. So I would recommend this to anyone who wants to start out learning Asia's copious amount of yummy tasting ingredients.

GET THE ORIGINAL! (not this flawed reprint)
I already own the original 1988 hardback edition, which is a superb and immensely useful book: more than five stars!Here on Amazon it should be easy and cheap for you toobtain that original edition, and I urge you to do so, for it is far better than this edition, despite the publisher's false claim that this one is "Fully revised and updated".

As an owner of the original, I feel tricked and cheated by the publisher.When I ordered this purportedly "new" edition I somehow overlooked the completely accurate Amazon customer review entitled: "Fully revised and expanded"...NOT

Indeed, not only have I yet to find anything new in this reprint, but there are far fewer photographs than there were in the original.For example, ALL of the photos of the labels on the bottles and jars of the many recommended sauces and condiments are GONE!When scanning the shelves of a large Chinese supermarket the photos in the original edition were extremely helpful in identifying the right brand, and their absence from the reprint is inexplicable and inexcusable.

Even the photos that are included are often not the same as in the original edition...and are much WORSE!Have you ever seen ingenious photos of familiar objects taken from vantage points contrived to disguise what it is that has been photographed?Well, some of these new photos are like that (quite unlike the clear and helpful photos in the original edition). To be specific, I defy all but the most experienced Asian chefs to even identify the photos on pages 23, 41, and 42, as being lemon grass, choi sum, and gai lan, respectively.Whereas the photos in the original edition showed the bases of these plants (crucial for identification) these new photos show only the very tips!

I have immense respect for Mr. Cost, and living in San Francisco I was lucky enough to go to his iconic Monsoon restaurant many times before he moved on to the much bigger Big Bowl project in the mid-west (which I have also been to and which is also very good).I can only imagine he was too busy to pay attention to the details of this reprint, for I cannot imagine that someone of his intellectual and culinary caliber would be happy with the end result.

Having exhausted my supply of bile, let me end by saying that if you do not already own the original edition and cannot find a second hand copy of the same, then you should immediately click on the Buy Now button for this reprint.Flawed as it is, there is still no other book like it in the English language: you owe it to yourself to have it.

P.S.Mr. Cost's earlier book devoted to ginger is equally invaluable, containing many absolutely fantastic recipes.This book has yet to be reprinted, but second-hand copies are readily available here on Amazon: Ginger East To West: The Classic Collection Of Recipes, Techniques, And Lore, Revised And Expanded.

Must Have Asian Food Reference
Being an Asian-American born in the US, sometimes we need something to understand Asian cooking and foodstuffs ourselves! I consider Bruce Cost the ultimate Asian food expert considering he's not Asian! Everything is explained in an easy to understand manner and is authentic as any Asian food reference. His Big Bowl cookbook is also excellent.

Buy This Book. Superb Presentation of East Asian Foods!
`Asian Ingredients' by Bruce Cost is one of those books like Patience Gray's `Honey from a Weed' and Claudia Roden's `New Book of Middle Eastern Food' which gets cited as THE authority on its subject by culinary heavyweights such as Ruth Reichl and Alice Waters. So, in my quest for the perfect culinary library, I really need to read and review this book. I am very happy to say that the reputation of this book is not overdone. It is one of the finest books on culinary ingredients I have seen on either Oriental or Occidental cuisines. The author states from the outset that his objective was not to give us an encyclopedic work. What we get is much closer to some of the finer books on Mediterranean cuisine such as Nancy Harmon Jenkins `The Essential Mediterranean'. In many ways, Cost's book is far more practical, albeit less analytical than Jenkins' work.

Cost deals with the fairly homogeneous food world of Japan, Korea, China, Viet Nam, and Thailand. He mentions India as an influence on Thai cuisine, but does not deal directly with Indian cuisine, as it is substantially different from the cuisine of China and the rest of the Far East. The book also does not deal with the cuisine of the Philippines or Indonesia, as the cuisines of these two nations are heavily influenced by European colonization beginning in the 16th century.

One of the best things about Cost's book is that it is organized in such a way to make it a pleasure to read for background information. While I have never sat down to read the Larousse Gastronomique for pleasure, I read Cost's book from cover to cover with great pleasure, skipping a very few subjects on which I was very familiar. Costs book is divided into the following seven (7) major chapters:

Fresh Ingredients including Herbs and Seasonings, Vegetables and Fungi, Meat, Poultry and Eggs, Fish
Preserved and Processed Ingredients including Dried Ingredients, Cured Ingredients, and Soy and Coconut
Condiments and Sauces including Soy based condiments, Fish based sauces, Chili based sauces, Vinegar and spirits, and Flavored oils
Spices, Sugars, Nuts, and Seeds, including Spices, Sugar, Nuts and Seeds
Rice
Noodles and Wrappers
Flours and Thickeners
Cooking Fats and Oils

One of the most dramatic lessons to be learned from this book is the fact that like the Mediterranean respect for dried and preserved ingredients such as salted cod, dried pasta, and dry beans, Asian dried ingredients such as seaweed, vegetables, fish, and mushrooms are highly regarded ingredients in their own right. They are not `second best'. By drying and concentrating their flavors, they bring something to the party that is simply beyond their fresh precursors.

Another fairly dramatic discovery is the fact that while so many of the spices prized by Europe and so greatly desired by Renaissance Europe were grown just next door to China and Japan, these spices such as black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon (cassias) really did not and still do not play a big part in East Asian cuisine, except for Thailand, which is influenced by the curries and other spices of India. Northern China and Japan almost totally reject the use of the `cookie spices' except for ginger, which is used heavily throughout the region covered by the book.

It is interesting to see both the harmony and the dissonance created when one lays Mediterranean and Far Eastern cuisine side by side. Some of the biggest parallels are the importance of garlic, pork, mushrooms, cilantro, and New World (capsicum) chilis. Some differences are in the relative importance of drying versus salt curing. As Nancy Harmon Jenkins points out, salt is much more important in the Mediterranean cuisines simply because the Mediterranean is saltier than the oceans, so it is a lot easier to acquire than on the Pacific Rim. There are some salt cured pork products, with hams very similar to Smithfield hams, but nowhere near as much of the Charcuterie / salume culture of Western Europe. The greatest differences between the two areas lies in the use of milk. There is simply no milk culture in East Asia from cows, goats, sheep, or buffalo. The Chinese and Japanese feel the same towards Europe's more aromatic cheeses as westerners may feel about fermented fish sauce, birds nests (dried bird saliva), and seaweed. Where the European uses animals' milk, the Asian uses milk refined from soy or coconut.

An important part of this book, more important than similar samples in most other books of this type, is the recipes, especially for things such as fish and chicken stocks, which are far simpler than comparable French stocks. They are not just simpler; there is a whole rationale in the Chinese cuisine against including vegetables in chicken stock recipes.

Two of the most useful aspects of this book are the recommendations on how to best use Asian markets and which commercial preparations are of a high quality. I had some reservations regarding a local Chinese run farmer's market with a fish counter until I read Cost's description of Asians' regard for freshness in fish. The `Iron Chef' episodes where virtually all seafood ingredients are presented live is not for the sake of show business. These people are SERIOUS about their fresh fish! Note that while this book was originally written and published in 1988, the new paperback edition was revised in 2000, so the numerous comments about which prepared brand name ingredients are the best should be fairly current.

This book is so good you will be remiss if you buy any other book on East Asian ingredients without first reading this new edition. Other books may offer better coverage of selected aspects of this subject, but this book is certainly the gold standard against which other books should be measured!

Very highly recommended, especially if you like to read about food as well as eat it.

A Cookbook in Reverse
Asian Ingredients is a cookbook in reverse. The familiar formula dictates that a little of the cookbook is dedicated to some cultural background titbits and a glossary; the rest is devoted to recipes. Cost, as his title indicates, offers us a major tour of the foodstuffs with just a sprinkling of recipes throughout. And that is exactly why the book appealed to me. Here you get the best bookish knowledge mixed with personal experience as he gives ingredients not just names, but cultural context, almost bringing them to life as if historical characters. Soy sauce, he tells us in the introduction, "evolved from ancient methods of fermenting and preserving meat and game ¡K" The Chinese value fresh water fish above salt water because the latter are considered to be already partly preserved (less fresh) - salted by the water they swim in. Amongst gems like these are plenty of practical advice for both the market and kitchen. But while the book includes a Region of Use listing for each ingredient, the geographical origin of each recipe is unfortunately left a mystery. The book is also crying out for a separate recipe index. You would not buy this book for the recipes alone but I tried four or five and whenever I wore my reading glasses and did not try to cut corners, I ended up with some really good food. Simple Roast Chicken with Sichuan Pepper (I was drawn to the word Simple), for example got the thumbs up from my friend Linda. The photographs being black and white are not always as illuminating as they should be, and there may be a few questionable facts. For instance, we learn that Dong gwa (gua) is Cantonese for Winter Melon. Not mentioned is the fact that this pronunciation is virtually identical in Mandarin. All in all I would call this an excellent reference. ... Read more

Product Description
On the demand side, exporters and strategic planners focusing on electric ovens, cookers, cooking plates, boiling rings, grillers, and roasters in South Korea face a number of questions. Which countries are supplying electric ovens, cookers, cooking plates, boiling rings, grillers, and roasters to South Korea? How important is South Korea compared to others in terms of the entire global and regional market? How much do the imports of electric ovens, cookers, cooking plates, boiling rings, grillers, and roasters vary from one country of origin to another in South Korea? On the supply side, South Korea also exports electric ovens, cookers, cooking plates, boiling rings, grillers, and roasters. Which countries receive the most exports from South Korea? How are these exports concentrated across buyers? What is the value of these exports and which countries are the largest buyers?

This report was created for strategic planners, international marketing executives and import/export managers who are concerned with the market for electric ovens, cookers, cooking plates, boiling rings, grillers, and roasters in South Korea. With the globalization of this market, managers can no longer be contented with a local view. Nor can managers be contented with out-of-date statistics which appear several years after the fact. I have developed a methodology, based on macroeconomic and trade models, to estimate the market for electric ovens, cookers, cooking plates, boiling rings, grillers, and roasters for those countries serving South Korea via exports, or supplying from South Korea via imports. It does so for the current year based on a variety of key historical indicators and econometric models.

In what follows, Chapter 2 begins by summarizing where South Korea fits into the world market for imported and exported electric ovens, cookers, cooking plates, boiling rings, grillers, and roasters. The total level of imports and exports on a ... Read more

Product Description
On the demand side, exporters and strategic planners focusing on iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts in South Korea face a number of questions. Which countries are supplying iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts to South Korea? How important is South Korea compared to others in terms of the entire global and regional market? How much do the imports of iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts vary from one country of origin to another in South Korea? On the supply side, South Korea also exports iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts. Which countries receive the most exports from South Korea? How are these exports concentrated across buyers? What is the value of these exports and which countries are the largest buyers?This report was created for strategic planners, international marketing executives and import/export managers who are concerned with the market for iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts in South Korea. With the globalization of this market, managers can no longer be contented with a local view. Nor can managers be contented with out-of-date statistics which appear several years after the fact. I have developed a methodology, based on macroeconomic and trade models, to estimate the market for iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts for those countries serving South Korea via exports, or supplying from South Korea via imports. It does so for the current year based on a variety of key historical indicators and econometric models.In what follows, Chapter 2 begins by summarizing where South Korea fits into the world market for imported and exported iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts. The total level of imports and exports on a worldwide basis, and those for South Korea in particular, is estimated using a model which aggregates across over 150 key country markets and projects these to the current year. From there, each country represents a percent of the world market. This market is served from a number of competitive countries of origin. Based on both demand- and supply-side dynamics, market shares by country of origin are then calculated across each country market destination. These shares lead to a volume of import and export values for each country and are aggregated to regional and world totals. In doing so, we are able to obtain maximum likelihood estimates of both the value of each market and the share that South Korea is likely to receive this year. From these figures, rankings are calculated to allow managers to prioritize South Korea compared to other major country markets. In this way, all the figures provided in this report are forecasts that can be combined with internal information sources for strategic planning purposes. ... Read more

Product Description
On the demand side, exporters and strategic planners focusing on iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts in South Korea face a number of questions. Which countries are supplying iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts to South Korea? How important is South Korea compared to others in terms of the entire global and regional market? How much do the imports of iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts vary from one country of origin to another in South Korea? On the supply side, South Korea also exports iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts. Which countries receive the most exports from South Korea? How are these exports concentrated across buyers? What is the value of these exports and which countries are the largest buyers?

This report was created for strategic planners, international marketing executives and import/export managers who are concerned with the market for iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts in South Korea. With the globalization of this market, managers can no longer be contented with a local view. Nor can managers be contented with out-of-date statistics which appear several years after the fact. I have developed a methodology, based on macroeconomic and trade models, to estimate the market for iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts for those countries serving South Korea via exports, or supplying from South Korea via imports. It does so for the current year based on a variety of key historical indicators and econometric models.

In what follows, Chapter 2 begins by summarizing where South Korea fits into the world market for imported and exported iron, steel, or copper non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment and parts. The total level ... Read more

Product Description
On the demand side, exporters and strategic planners focusing on non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment of iron or steel in South Korea face a number of questions. Which countries are supplying non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment of iron or steel to South Korea? How important is South Korea compared to others in terms of the entire global and regional market? How much do the imports of non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment of iron or steel vary from one country of origin to another in South Korea? On the supply side, South Korea also exports non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment of iron or steel. Which countries receive the most exports from South Korea? How are these exports concentrated across buyers? What is the value of these exports and which countries are the largest buyers?

This report was created for strategic planners, international marketing executives and import/export managers who are concerned with the market for non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment of iron or steel in South Korea. With the globalization of this market, managers can no longer be contented with a local view. Nor can managers be contented with out-of-date statistics which appear several years after the fact. I have developed a methodology, based on macroeconomic and trade models, to estimate the market for non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment of iron or steel for those countries serving South Korea via exports, or supplying from South Korea via imports. It does so for the current year based on a variety of key historical indicators and econometric models.

In what follows, Chapter 2 begins by summarizing where South Korea fits into the world market for imported and exported non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment of iron or steel. The total level of imports and exports on a worldwide basis, and those for South Korea in particular, is estimated using a model ... Read more

Product Description
On the demand side, exporters and strategic planners focusing on non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment of iron or steel in South Korea face a number of questions. Which countries are supplying non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment of iron or steel to South Korea? How important is South Korea compared to others in terms of the entire global and regional market? How much do the imports of non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment of iron or steel vary from one country of origin to another in South Korea? On the supply side, South Korea also exports non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment of iron or steel. Which countries receive the most exports from South Korea? How are these exports concentrated across buyers? What is the value of these exports and which countries are the largest buyers?This report was created for strategic planners, international marketing executives and import/export managers who are concerned with the market for non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment of iron or steel in South Korea. With the globalization of this market, managers can no longer be contented with a local view. Nor can managers be contented with out-of-date statistics which appear several years after the fact. I have developed a methodology, based on macroeconomic and trade models, to estimate the market for non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment of iron or steel for those countries serving South Korea via exports, or supplying from South Korea via imports. It does so for the current year based on a variety of key historical indicators and econometric models.In what follows, Chapter 2 begins by summarizing where South Korea fits into the world market for imported and exported non-electric domestic cooking or heating equipment of iron or steel. The total level of imports and exports on a worldwide basis, and those for South Korea in particular, is estimated using a model which aggregates across over 150 key country markets and projects these to the current year. From there, each country represents a percent of the world market. This market is served from a number of competitive countries of origin. Based on both demand- and supply-side dynamics, market shares by country of origin are then calculated across each country market destination. These shares lead to a volume of import and export values for each country and are aggregated to regional and world totals. In doing so, we are able to obtain maximum likelihood estimates of both the value of each market and the share that South Korea is likely to receive this year. From these figures, rankings are calculated to allow managers to prioritize South Korea compared to other major country markets. In this way, all the figures provided in this report are forecasts that can be combined with internal information sources for strategic planning purposes. ... Read more

Product Description
This report covers all forms of tea. It covers the market in South Korea. ... Read more

Product Description
Snapdata's Snapshots South Korea Noodles 2010 provides 2009 year-end market size data, with 2010 estimates, 5 years of historical data and five-year forecasts. The Snapshots report gives an instant overview of the South Korean noodle market andcovers instant Pot(bowl/cup) noodles and instant packet noodles. It does not include non-flavoured natural noodles.Market value is based on retail sales.Market volume is based on consumption. The data is supplied in both graphical and tabular format for ease of interpretation and analysis.The Snapshots South Korea Noodles 2010 forms part of Snapdata's Food industry coverage. ... Read more

Product Description
South Korea’s economy continues to improve and as such we have raised our full-year 2009 and 2010 growth forecasts from -1.9% and 1.8% to -1.1% and 3.1%, respectively. However, despite the improved outlook investors continue to exercise caution and as such we have witnessed little in the way of merger, acquisition or expansion activity in the country’s food and beverage industries this quarter.

In fact, the main development in Q409 has concerned outward investment. The country’s mass grocery retail (MGR) sector is fast reaching maturity and the quarter witnessed Lotte Shopping, the retail arm of South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group, acquire Chinese MGR Times. The acquisition is part of the company’s ongoing aim to diversify away from the highly competitive South Korean MGR market. The Chinese MGR sector is particularly appealing as sales growth of 45% is forecast to 2014, this is 11 percentage points higher than the sales growth forecast for the South Korea sector. However, despite increasing market maturity Lotte Shopping is still performing well in South Korea and results for Q309 released demonstrate this; revenue rose 9.4% y-o-y to KRW2.76trn while operating profit climbed 12.5% to KRW166.8bn. This underscores the fact that while China affords stronger growth, South Korea remains an attractive proposition for an established retailer.

Moving to the drinks sector, Q309 saw some interesting activity. In August 2009, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) fined five of South Korea’s major soft drink producers a combined KRW25.4bn (US$20.3mn) after they were found to have colluded over prices in early 2008. While this is likely to dent the reputation of the companies involved, the effect is only likely to be temporary and with virtually all the market leaders involved in the scandal it is unlikely to have a significant impact on product demand. However, with all eyes now on soft drink prices and with commodity prices rising, soft drink producers will struggle to protect profits by splitting the higher prices with consumers without damaging brand loyalty.

A potential risk to the profit margins of soft drink producers in the short term, the news is also a reminder of the business environment challenges that remain in South Korea, even as it increasingly grows to resemble a developed rather than an emerging market ... Read more

Product Description
South Korea has been hit particularly hard by worsening domestic and global conditions and as such BMIhas revised its 2009 real GDP forecast downwards (see Macroeconomic Outlook). This may go some wayto explaining the limited amount of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity this quarter. However, despiteconcerns over the economy and weakening consumer confidence, a number of retailers have confirmedexpansion plans.

One company hoping to take advantage of the current economic situation is South Korea’s largestmanufacturer of instant noodles, Nong Shim Co. The company announced this quarter that it aims toincrease sales for 2009 by 20% to US$1.28bn. Nong Shim Co believes that as a result of the economicproblems that consumers are facing they will turn their attentions to cheaper food alternatives such asnoodles, causing a surge in sales.

Moving to the drinks industry, Lotte Chilsung announced this quarter that it is to acquire the liquorbusiness of Doosan for somewhere in the region of US$381-457mn. This acquisition will enable Lotte tofurther diversity into the profitable and still high-growth alcoholic drinks sector, a sector that BMIforecasts will be worth US$1.6bn by 2013.

Meanwhile, retailers Samsung Tesco and Shinsegae have announced expansion plans this quarter.Following reports last quarter of a decline in sales, Samsung Tesco announced plans in January to open atleast six more hypermarkets during 2009. Whilst deteriorating economic conditions will affect consumerspendinglevels, South Korea’s mass grocery retail (MGR) sector remains an attractive prospect. Sales areexpected to increase by 27.9% to reach US$73.3bn in 2013, and in opening further stores Tesco is tryingto ensure it remains well positioned to handle consumer demand as it recuperates. South Korea’sShinsegae has announced plans to continue to expand in China, involving an increase in the number ofdiscount stores in the country from 19 to 30 by the end of 2009 and the opening of a further 10supermarkets within the year. Although GDP growth in China is expected to slow to 5.6% in 2009, ViceChairman of Shinsegae Chung Yong-jin has said the Chinese market is still attractive to the company.

Although this quarter has seen some activity in terms of company expansions, the environment for SouthKorea’s food, drink and retail industries is likely to remain tough throughout 2009 as global financialturmoil continues to take its toll on the region. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from New Moon Girls, published by New Moon Girl Media on March 1, 2009. The length of the article is 1017 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Heart & Seoul: my life in South Korea.(Global Village)
Author: Mehr Lakhiani
Publication: New Moon Girls (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2009
Publisher: New Moon Girl Media
Volume: 16Issue: 4Page: 16(4)

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

Product Description
In BMI's South Korea Agribusiness Report for Q2 2009 we introduce the new Business Environmentsection. This gives an overview of agriculture in South Korea and its significance to the overall economyand labour market. We also cover government support given to agriculture.

In February, BMI revised down its forecast for Korea's 2009 GDP growth to -3.3% after an abysmal finalquarter of 2008. Owing to the heavy support provided to farmers by the government and strong loyaltyamong consumers to domestically produced food, the agricultural sector in Korea will be largelyprotected against the worst of the turmoil. Demand for home grown rice could even be helped by thetough economic times as consumers cut back on expensive imported food.

However, the economic difficulties could also bring fresh attention to the huge agricultural subsidy bill,which is likely to increase in 2009 as market price support payments increase due to low world prices.The system of subsidy payments to rice farmers was already brought under public scrutiny at the end oflast year following the revelation of fraud on a massive scale in applications for payments. As the numberof jobless increases and government revenues are pushed, consumers may start to rankle at the high pricethey have to pay for food because of the protection given to local producers as well as the vast cost of thesubsidies and government revenue lost to tax breaks for the agricultural sector.

Countering this, however, will be the raised concerns about food security hanging over from 2008's ricecrisis. Though Korea, being self-sufficient in rice, was spared the scramble for supplies of net-importingcountries, the fears of rice shortages prompted a re-evaluation of food security across the region. Theincrease in food-safety scares, particularly regarding Chinese-produced food, will also give highly safetyconsciousKoreans pause for thought before demanding a change to the current policies.

Over the longer turn and despite the concerns over food security, it seems likely that there will have to besome changes in agricultural policy. With the average age among farmers already very high and smallscalefarming not such an attractive option for the younger generation, the days of the family farm as themajor mode of agricultural production seem limited. In 2002, a law limiting the maximum farm size waslifted, potentially opening the door to more large-scale commercial farms. With improved economies ofscale, it could be possible for Korea to cut the subsidy bill paid to agriculture without jeopardising foodsecurity or causing a collapse in agricultural output. ... Read more