South Korea's undenatured ethanol imports slumped by 41.04% month on month to 8,904 mt in December, data released Friday by the Korea Customs Service showed.
Brazil remained the biggest supplier of undenatured ethanol in the month, with 8,063 mt. No imports were seen from Pakistan for the month.
For full-year 2018, South Korea imported 142,375 mt of undenatured ethanol, compared with 143,804 mt in 2017.
Despite a lack of imports in December, Pakistan remained the largest supplier in 2018 at 43,294 mt, followed by Brazil with 42,549 mt, and Australian wheat-based ethanol at 29,040 mt.
South Korea's denatured ethanol imports in December surged 24.79% month on month to 22,013 mt, with the majority coming from the US.
Imports from the US reached 18,547 mt, while 1,927 mt were imported from Pakistan.
In 2018, South Korea imported a total 209,730 mt of denatured ethanol, up 28.58% from 163,117 mt in 2017. Of this, the US supplied 180,132 mt, up from 118,515 mt in 2017.
Meanwhile, South Korea's total ethanol exports fell 25% month on month to 4,023 mt in December with Japan as the main destination.
Total exports during January to December reached 42,392 mt, with the majority 42,191 mt headed to Japan. In comparison, South Korea exported 24,750 mt of ethanol in 2017.
