[Global Fascination with K-Food]⑥ Record High Agricultural Food Exports... Government Supports Item Development, Management, and Local Distribution Network Expansion

K-Food is penetrating the global food market. Reflecting this trend, exports have recorded the highest performance ever this year. To accelerate K-Food exports, the government is providing full support ranging from fostering and discovering export items to quality control, logistics and customs support, as well as pioneering local distribution networks.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the 24th, the cumulative export amount of agricultural and food products from January to September this year reached $7.3075 billion, an 8.3% increase compared to the same period last year. Unlike last year, the Chuseok holiday fell in September this year, resulting in one less working day, yet K-Food exports increased for 13 consecutive months, achieving the highest cumulative performance from January to September.

The strong performance of K-Food exports was led by ramen, snacks, beverages, and rice-processed foods. All these items recorded their highest export performance as of September. In particular, rice-processed foods such as frozen gimbap, instant rice, and tteokbokki were exported worth $217.9 million, a 41.6% increase compared to the same period last year. This already exceeds last year’s total performance ($217.2 million). A Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs official stated, "Along with the rapid growth in the U.S., the largest market for Korean rice-processed foods, K-Food exports are expected to increase further as they have recently entered global online platforms and large retail stores in China."

Among K-Food items, ramen, which has the highest export value, was exported worth $103 million in September alone. The cumulative export amount from the beginning of this year to September surpassed $900 million. The region with the highest growth rate in ramen exports is Latin America, especially Mexico, which imported more than twice the amount of Korean ramen compared to the same period last year. Latin America is a region where new market entry is being promoted to diversify K-Food export markets. This is attributed to continuous promotion of the appeal of K-Food such as ramen through events like K-Food meal days at local companies and schools, as well as social media (SNS) challenges.

However, fresh agricultural products exports have slightly decreased compared to last year due to insufficient domestic production. A Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs official said, "Due to poor harvests of pears and paprika, supply volumes were insufficient in the first half of the year, resulting in a decline, but recovery is underway recently." The official added, "For pears, which account for a large portion of fresh agricultural product exports, the Ministry plans to expand exports by the end of the year through focused promotion in collaboration with local media in major markets such as the U.S. and Vietnam, emphasizing safety management at cultivation sites and excellent taste."

◆ From Discovering Promising Items to Local Promotion... Government’s Full Effort to Expand K-Food Exports = The recent rapid growth in K-Food exports is partly due to the government’s full support. In February this year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced the 'K-Food Plus (+) Export Innovation Strategy,' setting export targets of $13.5 billion for K-Food, intelligent farms (smart farms), and agricultural machinery and equipment industries this year, and $23 billion by 2027.

To achieve these goals, the Ministry supports all processes for export expansion, from providing export information to local distribution networks. It operates an agricultural and food export information website for farmers, producer groups, and exporters who are attempting or expanding exports. It provides market trends of various countries, export-import systems, and export statistics of major items, and conducts 'customized surveys for export companies' that offer one-on-one tailored information for individual companies. It also provides export consulting for domestic companies to become exporters and for exporters to pioneer new markets. Support is given for overseas market development, export marketing, and on-site coaching.

The government is also focusing on fostering and discovering export items. To play a leading role in national exports, it is nurturing integrated organizations of fresh agricultural product exporters and export farms nationwide. Additionally, to expand agricultural and food exports through product development and improvement that meet local trends, it supports promising product development and overseas marketing costs for exporters of processed foods made from fresh agricultural and livestock products and domestic agricultural and livestock raw materials, aiming to increase exports.

To reduce logistics costs incurred during the distribution of agricultural and food products, the government supports the establishment of overseas joint logistics centers and cold chains (low-temperature distribution), and strengthens freshness maintenance management systems from raw material stages to shipment stages by supporting low-temperature distribution processing costs, thereby contributing to securing export competitiveness. In particular, to pioneer overseas markets, the government organizes Korean pavilions at major overseas food trade fairs to support exporters’ participation. This year, K-Food fairs were held locally in New York, USA; Lyon, France; Tokyo, Japan; and Jakarta, Indonesia, simultaneously holding export consultation meetings between companies and consumer events to expand the consumer base.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to expand support policies tailored to the characteristics of fresh agricultural products, processed foods, and upstream and downstream industries. Kim Jong-gu, Director of Agricultural Innovation Policy at the Ministry, said, "We will develop export-specialized models such as seeds and smart farms suitable for export countries’ environments, and expand support for local approval, certification, market testing, and marketing of export products." He added, "Since rice exports have been influenced by domestic supply and demand conditions, we will identify difficulties faced by rice exporters to establish stable demand channels for Korean rice. In the mid to long term, we will promote the creation of export-specialized complexes, development of joint brands, and marketing tailored to market characteristics."

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