South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) said July 13 it will raise the 2026 tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for soybean-for-sprout imports by 10,000 metric tons. The added volume qualifies for the WTO's 5% preferential tariff, instead of the 487% rate charged on imports above the quota.
Key Facts
- Up from 17,450 metric tons.
- The addition reverses part of MAFRA's December 2025 suspension of the broader soybean add-up quota.
- The added tons carry a 5% tariff.
Korea's sprout-soybean allotment rises from 17,450 metric tons to 27,450 metric tons for 2026, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service in Seoul.
The existing quota had already run out by the end of June, Newspim reported. Processors ran short of the beans used to grow kongnamul, a bean-sprout staple in Korean cooking. MAFRA framed the move as preemptive, aimed at heading off further price increases before the tighter H2 supply hits.
The Added Quota Takes Effect in August
The ministry plans to amend its 2026 TRQ operation plan, with implementation set for August. Extra volume applies to shipments imported from then through the end of December.
Only soybeans for sprouting qualify for the added 10,000 metric tons. It doesn't touch food-grade soybeans used for tofu, soymilk, and other processed products, which fall under a separate WTO tariff-rate quota line. The distinction matters. These two categories have moved in opposite directions this year.
MAFRA Reversed a December Decision to Suspend the Add-Up
Each December, MAFRA sets the coming year's autonomous quota plan. The plan covers any volume added above the WTO's 185,787-metric-ton minimum for food-grade soybeans.
For 2026, the ministry suspended that add-up entirely. The goal was to push buyers toward domestic soybeans and work down stockpiles that exceed 120,000 metric tons this year. From 2020 through 2025, the add-up had averaged roughly 46,000 metric tons a year.
Korea's voluntary add-up for food-grade soybeans ran between 32,966 and 77,962 metric tons a year from 2020 through 2025. It dropped to zero for 2026 before MAFRA carved out 10,000 metric tons in July, reserved only for sprout-use imports. The chart shows the sprout-specific 2026 figure separately from the broader food-grade totals in prior years, since the two aren't directly comparable.
MAFRA's suspension left sprout-bean supply particularly tight, since the category draws from the same overall food-grade quota. The ministry has also cut its own purchases of domestic soybeans to 30,000 metric tons this year, down from 60,000 metric tons in 2025.
Even so, MAFRA is trying to encourage farmers to plant more of the crop. Soybean planting intentions for the 2026-27 marketing year fell for the first time since 2020-21, the Korea Rural Economic Institute found in its June report. Growers cited inconsistent government purchases and weak demand.
The US Is Narrowing China's Lead in Sprout Soybeans
US suppliers have held about 13% of Korea's sprout-soybean import market on average, well behind China's 77% share in 2025. The gap narrowed in the first half of 2026, according to Korea Customs Service data. America's share climbed to 23% from 14% a year earlier.
The trend runs the other way in Korea's much larger food-grade soybean market, used for tofu and soymilk rather than sprouts. There, the US share fell to 49% in the first half of 2026 from 85% a year earlier.
Korea's state trading agency awarded a bulk 2026 tender to China on price instead. China's share of that market jumped 884% over the same stretch.
