South Korea's beer exports more than halved in the first nine months of the year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday.

Overseas shipments of Korean beer stood at $54.1 million in the January-September period, about 46 percent of last year's $117.3 million, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp.

Exports to China fell by a third to $20.3 million from $67.6 million over the cited period. Shipments to Hong Kong sank 27.3 percent, and those to the United States and Russia plunged 41 percent and 78 percent, respectively.

In the nine-month period, South Korea's imports of foreign beer also dipped 20.4 percent to $175.2 million from about $219.9 million a year earlier.

In particular, imports from Japan nose-dived nearly 90 percent on-year to $4.06 million due to the pandemic and a boycott of Japanese goods stemming from a diplomatic row over wartime forced labor.

The data also showed the value of South Korea's beer production came to 811.6 billion won ($719 million) last year, down 18.5 percent from 2015.

In the fourth quarter of last year, Oriental Brewery (OB) Co. was South Korea's largest brewer with a market share of 53.1 percent, followed by Hite Jinro Co. with 23.4 percent. (Yonhap)