K-Food Exports Surpass $10 Billion in Record Time… Instant Noodles Exceed $1.3 Billion

South Korea's agricultural, fishery, and food exports have surpassed 10 billion dollars (approx. 13.4 trillion won) in 253 days since the beginning of the year.

The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) announced today (September 14) that agricultural and fishery food exports broke the 10 billion dollar mark in 253 days, achieving the milestone 19 days faster than last year.

This is the fastest record in history.

Since agricultural and fishery food exports first exceeded 10 billion dollars in 2021, the time frame for achieving the 10 billion dollar milestone has been advancing every year.

By country, exports to the United States, the largest export destination, rose 12.9% year-on-year to 1.81448 billion dollars.

Exports to China increased by 14.0% to 1.66966 billion dollars.

Exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Netherlands rose by 49.9% to 331.71 million dollars and 14.4% to 229.55 million dollars, respectively.

By product category, instant noodle (ramen) exports showed the largest surge, growing 27.2% to 1.3076 billion dollars.

Exports of strawberries and grapes increased by 15.5% to 60.98 million dollars and 64.6% to 45.18 million dollars, respectively.

Not only processed foods but also fresh food exports increased significantly.

According to the Korea Agricultural Trade Information (KATI), strawberry exports from January to July this year rose 15.8% from the same period last year to 59.74 million dollars.

Exports of grapes and oriental melons also grew by 34.4% and 7.0%, respectively.

Strawberries increased their added value focusing on premium varieties, while grape exports grew centered around Shine Muscat.

Among fishery products, seasoned laver (gim) exports rose 8.0% to 462.65 million dollars, and oyster exports increased 8.2% to 65.6 million dollars.

The government and aT plan to continue export support in the second half of the year to achieve record-high export performance.

They plan to discover strategic items tailored to regional consumption characteristics in the U.S. and ASEAN, and support the expansion of fresh grape exports.

Logistics infrastructure will also be expanded through initiatives such as the Vietnam complex logistics hub and the Middle East joint cold-chain logistics business.

To cope with non-tariff barriers such as the European Union's packaging regulations and Indonesia's mandatory halal certification, a one-stop export support system involving 15 related organizations will be operated.

Jeon Ki-chan, aT Director of Export Food, said, "Achieving 10 billion dollars early is a performance showing that K-food exports are continuing to grow," adding, "We will expand export items and markets so that temporary interest driven by the popularity of K-content can lead to repeat purchases by local consumers."

(Photo provided by aT, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.