By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
The stock market plunge and concern on inflation seems to be inducing lovers to cut expenditure on Valentine's Day gifts. Imports of expensive chocolates, an icon of Valentine's Day presents for loved ones here, have decreased, substituted for by cheap candies, the Korea Customs Service said Wednesday.
According to the customs office, imports of chocolates stood at $19.5 million in January, down 1.3 percent from the previous year. Imports of candies, meanwhile, recorded $6.9 million, growing 23 percent.
The office explained that an import decrease is notable for expensive chocolates. Imports of chocolates from Switzerland, which are relatively highly priced, plunged by 64.5 percent, and those from Japan saw a 31.6 percent drop. Italian chocolates, the most expensive, also had 11.9 percent cut in imports.
Cheap chocolates from China, priced less than one sixth of Italian chocolates, meanwhile, saw 20.1 percent growth in imports. ``Customers seem to be choosing cheap chocolates compared with 2007,'' the customs office said.
According to the Samsung Economic Research Institute, consumer sentiment index for the first quarter recorded 51.1, falling 2.3 points from the previous quarter. It is the first drop in five quarters. The economic think tank attributed it to the plunging stock market and the concern over the global economic slowdown and the recession in the United States.
The United States is the largest exporter of chocolates to Korea. Around one third of imported chocolates come from there. China takes 12.1 percent, and Italy, 10.5 percent.
Imports of candies from Spain grew 70.2 percent, and China exported 37.1 percent more of the sweets to Korea than a year ago. Spain and China are major exporters of candies to Korea, along with the United States. China takes over one quarter of Korea's candy import market. The United States and Spain take around 17 percent, each.
The customs office said winter is the peak season for chocolates and candies. Over 40 percent of chocolate imports come between October and December, targeting Christmas and Valentine's Day.