Alcoholic beverage imports reached a record high of $507 million in 2014, fueled by steady demand for beer and wine, a government report said Friday.
  

According to the Korea Customs Service, last year's total represents a 9.5-percent increase compared to $463 million last year. The tally also marks the first time that imports surpassed the annual $500-million mark.
  

In terms of volume, the total topped 171 million liters, up a sharp 15.4 percent vis-a-vis 149 million liters reported in 2013.
  

The average unit price of imported alcoholic beverages, on the other hand, dipped 5.1 percent on-year to $2.96 per liter. The year before, the average price stood at $3.12.
  

Of all the alcoholic beverages imported, beer ranked No. 1 with 118 million liters, representing a gain of 24.5 percent from 2013.
  

Wine imports moved up 1 percent to 33 million liters, while whiskey and sake fell 2.8 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, to 17 million liters and 3.8 million liters.
  

The KCS said the unit price of beer edged up 0.1 percent to $0.95 per liter last year and 5 percent to $5.52 for wine.
  

Prices for whiskey jumped 10.2 percent to $11.68 per liter, while the average sake prices fell 7.5 percent to $3.84.
  

By country of origin, Japan was the single largest supplier of beer and sake, with Chile ranking top in wine and Britain a stronghold in the whiskey market.
  

The report showed 27 percent of all beer and 79.8 percent of sake was imported from Japan. Chile provided 26.2 percent of wine, with Britain's market share of whiskey hitting 95.2 percent.
  

The Netherlands and Germany were also important exporters of beer, while Spain and Italy each held double digit shares in the wine import market, the findings showed. (Yonhap)