By Jane Han
Staff Reporter

Rice has long topped local food retailers' best-selling list, but not this year. The country's traditional staple lost its place for the first time in years, bumped by none other than instant coffee.

The three-in-one coffee mix, a steady selling sachet of coffee powder, creamer and sugar, has shot up in popularity this year to take the No. 1 spot in sales at Shinsegae E-mart, the nation's largest hypermarket chain.

The sweet brew climbed from last year's No. 3 sales position, indicating that the spike is in line with the theory that people seek solace in sweets during economic downturns.

According to E-mart's January to November sales data collected from the chain's 126 outlets nationwide, coffee mix posted the strongest sales figure among 2,874 products the retailer carries.

Instant noodles ranked second ― unchanged from last year's status.

Meanwhile, rice fell to third place.

"Weaker rice sales reflect the nation's falling rice consumption," said Park Jong-kwan of E-mart.

The government projects this year's rice consumption will total 4.3 million metric tons, leaving a surplus of 200,000 to 280,000 tons. The nation's per-capita annual rice consumption of 76 kilograms has shrunk by a quarter over the past 10 years due to people's changing diet patterns.

Koreans eating more Western-style foods is one reason why sales of rice are falling at E-mart and other hypermarkets. But online shopping may be another, retailers say.

"Rice sales have actually gone up moderately on Internet shopping sites," said an official of Auction, a leading online retailer, who explained that people want to skip the trouble of carrying heavy sacks of rice.

While rice moved down the sales ranking, LCD televisions smaller than 46 inches kept their No. 4 spot through the slump, according to E-mart. Kimchi fridges went up two notches to take fifth place, followed by tissues, milk and Amore Pacific cosmetics.

LCD televisions bigger than 46 inches shot up 36 spots, taking ninth place this year, while LG cosmetics climbed two spots to 10th.

Cosmetics and big televisions were new to the top 10 this year, but canned beer and baby milk fell from the best-seller list.

"Recent shopping patterns show that people spend money on items with lasting value, instead of those that are quickly consumable," said Park of E-mart, who added that the nation's worsening birthrate is increasingly affecting the sales of baby-related products.

jhan@koreatimes.co.kr