Gyeongbuk Province Surpasses $900 Million in Agricultural Food Exports for the First Time Last Year... Export Countries Expanded from 63 to 146

Gyeongbuk Province achieved a historic milestone last year by reaching $900 million in agricultural and food exports for the first time.

Exports grew approximately 3.4 times over 11 years, from $272.22 million in 2013 to $933.14 million (1.02 trillion KRW) in 2023.

During the same period, the number of export countries and items also increased and diversified, expanding from 63 countries and 203 items to 146 countries and 797 items.

Gyeongsan grapes exhibited at the Hong Kong International Food Expo.

By item, grapes, rice, and chamoe melon showed significant growth. Grape exports increased by 32.4% to $35.35 million, rice exports rose by 68.7% to $3.7 million, and chamoe melon exports surged by 122.6% to $1.38 million.

Among processed foods, beverages, red snow crab meat, alcoholic beverages, kimchi, and dairy products led the growth trend. Beverage exports increased by 5.6% to $94.74 million, red snow crab meat by 17.7% to $27.35 million, alcoholic beverages by 31.0% to $27.04 million, kimchi by 1.6% to $10.74 million, and dairy products by 23.2% to $31.93 million.

Gyeongbuk Province attributes the sustained long-term growth in agricultural and food exports to its comprehensive export support policies that assist the entire production-distribution-sales process, including the major transition to the agricultural food processing industry.

For fresh agricultural products, a three-tier supply base has been established to ensure stable exports, consisting of government-designated export complexes (32 sites), province-designated export complexes (33 sites), and preliminary export complexes (31 sites).

To enhance international competitiveness, indirect support such as international certifications (FDA, HALAL, KOSHER) and packaging design development costs were provided, along with 62 overseas promotional activities conducted in 2023.

Looking ahead, Gyeongbuk Province plans to focus on strategic item development in preparation for the opening of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport by designating Shine Muscat grapes, which export about $35 million, and strawberries, a high-income crop with diverse consumer bases and great export potential, as specialized items. The province aims to increase strawberry exports to $10 million by 2030 by intensively nurturing 20 “strawberry export complexes.”

Promotional booth of Gyeongbuk Province at the Hanoi Vietnam Agro-Food Expo.

Additionally, for processed foods, overseas promotional activities such as participation in international food fairs for Andong Soju, beverages, and kimchi, as well as operation of permanent overseas sales outlets, will continue to raise brand awareness.

Kim Ju-ryeong, Director of the Agriculture, Livestock, and Distribution Bureau of Gyeongbuk Province, stated, “The record-breaking growth in agricultural and food exports was made possible by the excellent quality of K-Gyeongbuk Food products and our support policies. Our immediate goal is to achieve $1 billion in agricultural and food exports this year, and through future-oriented export support policies, we will do our best to ensure that Gyeongbuk’s agricultural and food products lead the global food market competition.”

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