South Korea's pet-food market — size, growth and trade (2023/2024)
Two first-hand government reports anchor Korea's pet-food market picture: a USDA Foreign Agricultural Service GAIN report (KS2024-0001, Seoul ATO, 2024-08-20) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's "Pet food trends in South Korea." A separate Statistics Korea notice establishes the legal basis for the country's pet-rearing survey.
Domestic market size
- In 2022, the dog-and-cat food market was 1.69 trillion KRW (1,308 million USD) — up 71% versus 2017's 988 billion KRW (874 million USD).
- Korea ranked the 14th-largest market in the world, reaching US$1.5 billion in 2023 retail sales, a CAGR of 11.3% (2018–2023) (AAFC; this is total pet-food retail, a broader basis than USDA's dog-and-cat figure).
2023 retail sales by species (AAFC)
- Dog food: US$875.6 million (CAGR 7.6%, 2018–2023).
- Cat food: US$614.6 million (CAGR 18.0%, 2018–2023) — the faster-growing segment.
- Other pet food: less than 1.5% of the total.
Imports (2023)
- Dog-and-cat food imports reached US$307 million, down 11.45% year-on-year — the first import decline in over a decade; volume was 59,392 tons, down 16.47%.
- Korea was the 21st-largest importer of pet food (US$307.5M).
- Largest suppliers by value: China US$100.2M (32.6%), US US$48.8M (15.9%), Thailand US$37.6M (12.2%); Japan at 7.49% (USDA GAIN).
- The dog-to-cat ratio in imports is roughly 60:40, and imported products have historically held about two-thirds of the market.
The national rearing survey (legal basis)
Statistics Korea promulgated Notice No. 2025-29 approving the Pet Rearing Status Survey (반려동물양육현황조사) under Animal Protection Act Article 94, which requires the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to collect and publish companion-animal rearing information. The survey covers 3,000 households and runs annually.
Honest gaps
- Absolute pet-population / ownership counts are not present in these first-hand C1 sources (the rearing survey topic covers the survey's legal design, not its results). They are omitted rather than fabricated.
- No first-hand 2024 total retail figure is quoted; the latest full-year retail figure is AAFC's 2023 US$1.5B. A 2028 forecast seen in secondary snippets is not in the extracted sources and is excluded.
Sources
market_stats_kr_2024— USDA GAIN KS2024-0001 + AAFC: 2022 dog+cat food 1.69T KRW (+71% vs 2017); 2023 retail US$1.5B (CAGR 11.3%); dog food US$875.6M (CAGR 7.6%), cat food US$614.6M (CAGR 18.0%), other <1.5%; 2023 imports US$307M (−11.45% YoY, 59,392 t −16.47%), 21st-largest importer; suppliers China 32.6% / US 15.9% / Thailand 12.2% / Japan 7.49%; import dog:cat ~60:40; imports ~two-thirds of market.kr_pet_rearing_survey_2025— Statistics Korea Notice No. 2025-29 approving the Pet Rearing Status Survey under Animal Protection Act Art. 94; 3,000 households; annual cycle.