Instant noodles, rice, kimchi buoy Korean food exports

South Korea’s agricultural and food exports have turned upward this year, led by Koreans' everyday menu items such as rice, kimchi and instant noodles, reversing their decline in first-half shipments, data showed.

Since the start of this year, exports of agricultural and food products have crawled up 0.4% on-year to $6.31 billion as of Sept. 16, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Monday.

The figures compare with their exports of $8.82 billion for all of 2022, which marked their largest-ever shipments for a single year.

Including the shipments of agricultural machinery and smart farm equipment, the agricultural and food industries posted a 1.8% increase to $8.46 billion in cumulative exports this year as of Sept. 16, compared to the prior year.

By food category, instant noodle exports shot up 23.5% to $657 million this year through mid-September from a year before.

Particularly, Samyang Foods Co.'s hot chicken flavor ramen, or Buldak-bokkeum-myeon, led Korean instant noodle exports.

The Korean ramen with spicy and fiery flavors is so popular that some foreign YouTubers created the "fire noodle challenge."

Exports of processed rice products rose 16.2% on-year to $145 million as of mid-September, buoyed by precooked rice dishes and frozen gimbap. Gimbap, a rice roll made of vegetables and meat and rolled in dried seaweed, has recently gained sensational popularity in the US.

Exports of kimchi, Korea's most popular side dish, jumped 9.9% on-year to $113 million. Kimchi is a vegetable-fermented Korean staple.

FRUIT EXPORTS ON RISE

Korean strawberries and pears are also enjoying strong demand in overseas markets.

Exports of strawberries and pears spiked 26.9% and 18.1% on-year to $52 million and $32 million, respectively. Strawberries have sold well in Southeast Asia since Korean strawberry farms introduced new varieties.

Korean pears, especially from Naju, South Jeolla Province, are popular in the US and Europe thanks to their sweet and juicy flavor.

SMART FARMS FOR EXPORT

Smart farms have emerged as a new export product for South Korea’s agricultural industry after the country received a string of orders from the Middle East to build smart farms.

Smart farm orders received so far this year amounted to $238 million, up 202.8% from a year before.

Pesticide exports skyrocketed 91.8% on-year to $309 million thanks to robust sales of herbicides in the US.

Write to Jung-Hwan Hwang at jung@hankyung.com
 


Yeonhee Kim edited this article.