Last Year, South Korea's Chicken Processed Meat Exports Hit Record High... Promising Market is Hong Kong

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Last year, South Korea's processed chicken meat exports reached an all-time high, driving the popularity of 'K-Food (Korean cuisine)' in overseas markets.

According to the 'Promising Items AI Report (Processed Chicken Meat)' released on the 18th by the Korea International Trade Association's International Trade and Commerce Research Institute, South Korea's processed chicken meat exports last year increased by 59.5% compared to the previous year, reaching $21 million, marking a record high. This was due to the global increase in demand for home meal replacements (HMR) and the influence of the Korean Wave, which significantly boosted exports of ready-to-eat Samgyetang and chicken breast products.

Artificial intelligence (AI) analyzed nine indicators including GDP, population, import volume, and regulations of 58 major countries, and found that the market with the highest export potential for South Korean processed chicken meat was Hong Kong (88.9 points), followed by Singapore (88.6 points), Japan (88.2 points), and the United States (86.8 points).

Annual Export Trends of Processed Chicken Meat by Year (Unit: Million USD, %)/Source=Korea International Trade Association, Institute for International Trade and Commerce

Hong Kong is the second largest country for South Korea's processed chicken meat exports after the United States, with exports increasing by 162.4% year-on-year to $4.96 million last year. The market share of Korean products has also been steadily rising from 0.1% in 2016 to 0.4% in 2019, and the basic tariff rate on processed chicken meat is 0%, which is an advantage. Recently, the Korean Wave stars' chicken breast diet was featured in Hong Kong media, further increasing market preference for Korean chicken products.

The United States, ranked fourth among promising markets, is South Korea's largest export market for processed chicken meat, accounting for 28.1% ($5.9 million) of processed chicken meat exports last year. The market share of Korean products in the U.S. processed chicken meat imports has also steadily increased from 0.9% in 2016 to 2.1% in 2020, which was highly evaluated. In the case of Canada, after the South Korean government requested the import of Samgyetang to Canadian food authorities in 1996, a final agreement was reached 24 years later, and the first export was successful last year, placing Canada on the promising market list.

Senior Researcher Bohee Jeon of the Korea International Trade Association said, "The recent increase in processed chicken meat exports is the result of efforts such as launching locally customized products and digital marketing using Korean Wave stars," adding, "Export support that matches rapidly changing consumer trends such as increased demand for home meal replacements and the spread of the Korean Wave should be further expanded."

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