Imports of kataifi, matcha-flavored food additives, allulose and other related products surged last year on the popularity of "Dubai chewy cookies," matcha desserts and zero-calorie foods, data showed. Consumption trends spread mainly through social media (SNS) are seen as having influenced the imported food market.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety published its "2026 Imported Food Inspection Yearbook" on Monday, reporting that imported food and related products last year totaled 874,928 cases, 19.33 million tons and $36.6 billion in value from 165 countries. Compared with the previous year, the number of import cases rose 3.3% and the value increased 2.4%, while the weight fell 0.3%.
The biggest change last year was the rise in imports of food ingredients linked to popular social media foods. Imports of kataifi, a key ingredient in Dubai chewy cookies and Dubai chocolate, reached 347 tons, a 340.5% surge from 79 tons the previous year. Imports of processed pistachio foods, such as pistachio spread and roasted pistachios, also rose 25.9% to 407 tons, while marshmallow imports increased 48.2% to 2,762 tons.
The matcha dessert trend was also reflected in import statistics. Imports of "MATCHA" food additives reached 3,510 kilograms, up 290% from 900 kilograms the previous year.
The spread of "zero-calorie" consumption also boosted imports of alternative sweeteners. Erythritol rose 6.1% to 11,000 tons and xylitol increased 43.7% to 4,000 tons. Imports of allulose products, a processed sugar product, also rose 31.2% to 8,000 tons.
By contrast, imports of health functional foods continued to decline. Last year, health functional food imports totaled 23,000 tons, down 1.2% from the previous year. The ministry analyzed that the increase in direct overseas purchases driven by the development of e-commerce had an impact. In fact, the number of health food imports through e-commerce reached 16.34 million cases last year, up from the previous year.
By country, the United States had the largest import volume at 3.986 million tons, followed by China (3.799 million tons) and Australia (2.894 million tons). The top three countries accounted for 55.2% of total imports. Thailand, helped by increased imports of refined food ingredients and sugar, overtook Brazil for the first time in five years to rank fourth in import volume.
By category, agricultural and forestry products accounted for 8.668 million tons, or 44.8% of the total, followed by processed foods (6.764 million tons), livestock products (1.886 million tons) and seafood (953,000 tons). While total imports edged down, livestock and seafood imports rose 4.5% and 5.7%, respectively.
Imports of fresh agricultural products also increased sharply. Napa cabbage imports reached 21,000 tons, up 395.6% from the previous year, while radish rose 368.8% to 7,835 tons and onions increased 67.7% to 141,000 tons. Among livestock products, chicken imports rose 16.7% to 224,000 tons, while cheese and butter imports increased 17.6% and 40.9%, respectively. Imports of goat meat, drawing attention as a summer health food, also rose 26.3%.
In imported food safety management, a total of 1,420 cases (5,880 tons) were ruled noncompliant last year and blocked from entering the country, accounting for 0.03% of total imports. The most common reason for noncompliance was violations of individual standards and specifications, while violations of pesticide residue limits rose 13.2% from the previous year. By country, the number of noncompliant cases was highest for China, followed by Vietnam, India, Thailand and Japan.
The ministry stressed, "We will use the results of imported food statistics analysis for policy development, industry growth and consumer information, and we will create an environment where the public can consume imported food with confidence through a triple safety management system including pre-import registration of overseas manufacturing facilities and on-site inspections, customs inspections, and sampling inspections at the distribution stage."
