MARKET CONCENTRATION OF THE PROCESSED FOOD IN KOREA

Abstract

In Korea, processed food markets have various shapes of structure: the markets of ice cream, special dietary food, noodles, sugar are highly concentrated, while the markets of gimchi, pickles, and ice are not very concentrated. The level of market concentration changes over time. These market structures and structural changes cause impacts on related industries as well as own industries. For the more successful policies, the paper suggests three ideas: to realize that each food processing industry has a different industry structure, to understand the relationship between the food processing industry and upstream and downstream industries and to take into account opinions from various sources before adopting new policies.

In Korea, processed food markets have various shapes of structure: the markets of ice cream, special dietary food, noodles, sugar are highly concentrated, while the markets of gimchi, pickles, and ice are not very concentrated. The level of market concentration changes over time. These market structures and structural changes cause impacts on related industries as well as own industries. For the more successful policies, the paper suggests three ideas: to realize that each food processing industry has a different industry structure, to understand the relationship between the food processing industry and upstream and downstream industries and to take into account opinions from various sources before adopting new policies.