Chungnam Seafood Export Value Surpasses $200 Million... Gim Accounts for 91% of Total

Last year, the export value of seafood products from the Chungnam region exceeded 200 million dollars. This was driven by the strong performance of gim (seaweed) exports, with gim accounting for more than 90% of the region's seafood product export value last year.

According to Chungnam Province on the 21st, the export value of seafood products from the Chungnam region last year was 202.19 million dollars (about 270 billion won), an increase of 18.9% compared to the previous year (170.05 million dollars).

This export value accounts for 6.8% of the national export total, ranking sixth largest after Busan, Seoul, Jeonnam, Gyeongnam, and Gyeonggi.

Graph of Chungnam seafood product export value. Provided by Chungnam Province

The increase in seafood product exports from Chungnam is attributed to the rising popularity of Chungnam-produced gim overseas. In fact, the export value of gim from Chungnam has more than doubled in the past four years, and last year gim accounted for 91.9% of the total export value.

The national export value of gim is recorded at 791.47 million dollars. Among this, Chungnam exported 184.137 million dollars (23.3%), ranking second nationwide after Jeonnam with 248.788 million dollars (31.4%).

By product category in Chungnam, seasoned gim accounted for 116.406 million dollars, or 57.5% of the total, while dried gim accounted for 67.731 million dollars, or 33.5%. Together, seasoned and dried gim make up over 90% of the total gim export value.

By export destination, the figures were ▲United States 48.598 million dollars (18.6% increase) ▲China 40.571 million dollars (11.1% decrease) ▲Indonesia 18.067 million dollars (65.4% increase) ▲Thailand 10.076 million dollars (27.3% increase) ▲Vietnam 9.577 million dollars (47.2% increase), in that order.

Chungnam Province analyzed that the increase in gim consumption overseas was driven by the growing demand for convenience foods and the spread of consumer perception of seaweed as a ‘superfood,’ which played a key role in boosting regional seafood product exports.

In fact, the export value of gim surged 79.9% from 75.088 million dollars in 2019 to 135.11 million dollars in 2021 and has continued to grow steadily. Thanks to the growth of gim exports, Chungnam’s seafood product export value surpassed 100 million dollars for the first time in 2020, up from 40.75 million dollars in 2013, and exceeded 200 million dollars for the first time last year, just three years later.

Jang Jin-won, Director of the Marine and Fisheries Bureau of Chungnam Province, said, "This year, we will focus on developing high value-added seafood products and fostering seafood companies centered on the domestic market to expand exports and open new sales channels."

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