Gangwon-do Agricultural and Marine Food Exports Reach $400 Million... 7.1% Increase Year-on-Year

Kimchi (31.1%), Paprika (15.2%), Sauces (492.9%), Coffee (17.6%)

Reference photo [Provided by Gangwon-do]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Despite the spread of COVID-19 last year, the export value of agricultural and marine food products in Gangwon-do showed significant growth.

Gangwon-do announced on the 21st, "As of the end of December 2020, the export value of agricultural and marine food products in Gangwon-do was $434 million, a 7.1% increase from $406 million in 2019."

Last year, the total export value in the province was $2.023 billion, with agricultural and marine food products accounting for 21.4%, showing annual growth.

Compared to the nationwide increase from $9.531 billion in 2019 to $9.881 billion last year, a 3.7% rise, Gangwon-do's growth was notably higher.

This increase is attributed to the rise in exports of fresh agricultural products such as kimchi, paprika, sauces, coffee, snacks, noodles, and livestock products, as well as processed food exports.

By country, exports include kimchi (United States, United Kingdom, Japan), paprika (Japan), sauces (Sweden, Netherlands), and coffee (United States, Thailand).

The factors behind the export increase are analyzed as the prolonged COVID-19 situation leading to reduced dining out and increased 'home meal consumption' domestically and internationally, along with a growing preference among foreigners for fermented foods like kimchi as health foods.

Additionally, support budgets related to exports, such as ▲improving export product quality (selection and packaging) ▲export logistics costs ▲development of packaging design and promotional materials ▲support for fostering promising export companies ▲support for promotional and sales events, also played a significant role.

Choi Ki-cheol, head of the China Trade Division of the province, stated, "This year as well, we will prepare online and offline marketing strategies to effectively respond to changes in the agricultural and marine food export environment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.