First Half Year Agricultural and Marine Food Exports Reach $6.21 Billion... 'All-Time High'

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] Agricultural and marine food exports in the first half of this year reached a record high of $6.21 billion (approximately 8.045 trillion KRW).

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 5th that agricultural and marine food exports in the first half of this year totaled $6.21 billion, a 14.6% increase compared to the same period last year. This is the highest ever for the first half of the year, with agricultural food at $4.5 billion and marine food at $1.71 billion.

Despite difficult external conditions such as the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict, ongoing global logistics disruptions, and strengthened COVID-19 quarantine measures in China, agricultural food exports were driven by the spread of Hallyu and the popularity of K-food, with rice processed products (up 13.3%), ramen (20%), snacks (11.5%), and beverages (8.9%) leading the performance.

Marine food exports also increased for major items such as gim (seaweed) (up 13.8%), toothfish (117.3%), and abalone (43.7%). In particular, gim, the top marine food export item exported to 114 countries worldwide, is developed in various forms including processed dried gim, seasoned gim for side dishes, and snack gim, and is expected to achieve annual exports of $700 million for the first time as a single item.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to fully focus on expanding exports by improving quality and safety at the production stage as fresh agricultural products are shipped in earnest in the second half of the year, stabilizing logistics through dedicated agricultural food shipping space and aircraft, and strengthening customized marketing according to the conditions of each country.

For example, considering that this year's Chuseok holiday is earlier than usual, early quarantine inspections will be initiated for fresh pears (early-ripening variety), and logistics and marketing will be systematically prepared.

Kwon Jaehan, Director of the Food Industry Policy Office at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "We will do our best to expand the growth of agricultural food exports by strengthening marketing that utilizes opportunities such as Hallyu and online trends in line with global trends, while resolving difficulties in the field caused by changes in external conditions such as customs clearance and logistics."

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