The country's per-capita consumption of meat reached 42.7 kilograms in 2013, compared with 11.3 kilograms in 1980, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Officials attributed the increase to a rise in income and a change in people's eating habit, which has become more Westernized.
Pork accounted for 48.9 percent, or 20.9 kilograms of the total meat consumption, up from 6.3 kilograms in 1980, followed by chicken (26.9 percent, or 11.5 kilograms, up from 2.4 kilograms) and beef (24.1 percent, or 10.3 kilograms, up from 2.6 kilograms).
Imports of meat have risen sharply to meet the nation's growing demand for meat. In 2013, imports constituted 27.2 percent of the total meat consumption, compared with 2.2 percent 33 years earlier, the data said.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
