South Korea's fruit imports hit a new record high last year due to dietary diversity, customs office data showed Monday.

South Korea imported 834,000 tons of fruits, worth 1.24 billion U.S. dollars, in 2017, according to data from Korea Customs Service.

In terms of value, the fruit imports reached a new record high, more than doubling compared with the figure tallied 10 years earlier.

Banana import amounted to 370 million U.S. dollars in 2017, remaining as the single largest fruit import since 2006. The tropical fruit accounted for 29.4 percent of the total fruit imports last year.

It was followed by orange taking up 17.8 percent of the total and grape and cherry making up 12.9 percent each.

Avocado import was 30 million U.S. dollars in 2017, surging 1,458.3 percent from 10 years earlier.

Mango import soared 701.2 percent over the past 10 years to 50 million U.S. dollars in 2017.

The United States was the largest fruit exporter to South Korea, accounting for 38.3 percent of the total fruit imports of the country.

It was followed by the Philippines with 28.6 percent of the total, Chile with 11.6 percent and New Zealand with 5.1 percent, respectively.