K-Food Exports Positive for 15 Consecutive Months... Record High $9.05 Billion Accumulated from January to November

8.1% Increase from Last Year
Record High as of Late November in Ramen, Snacks, Beverages, and Rice Processed Foods

Exports of agricultural and food products (K-Food) have shown a favorable trend, recording an increase for 15 consecutive months. The cumulative export value up to November this year reached $9.05 billion, marking the highest performance ever recorded by the end of November.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 4th that the provisional cumulative export amount of K-Food as of the end of November was $9.05 billion, an 8.1% increase compared to last year.

Top export items such as ramen, snacks, beverages, and processed rice products all recorded their highest performance as of the end of November. Ramen, which exceeded $1 billion in exports for the first time, reached $1.14 billion, while snacks and beverages (over $600 million) also grew by more than 10% compared to the same period last year. Processed rice products such as frozen gimbap, instant rice, and tteokbokki were exported at $280 million, up 39.3% year-on-year, as they entered large retail stores in the U.S. and China and maintained popularity.

Coffee products such as coffee creamer and instant coffee also contributed to the export increase. They grew 2.8% year-on-year, surpassing $300 million in cumulative exports by the end of November. In October, a new instant coffee product was exported to Indonesia, marking a market expansion from coffee raw materials for manufacturers to consumer coffee exports.

Shochu and liqueurs increased by 3.7% and 6.1% respectively year-on-year due to entry into specialized liquor stores in the U.S. and increased demand in China. Although the export scale is still small, liqueurs in Brazil increased by 216.4% year-on-year through promotional activities linked to large retail stores, and beer in Mongolia increased by 72.7% through “partner food marketing” with beer and ramen in Korean convenience stores.

Fresh foods increased by 0.4% year-on-year. Kimchi, yuzu, and grapes showed growth trends. In particular, kimchi demand steadily increased through entry into large retail stores and promotional events in the U.S. and Europe, rising 3.9% year-on-year. Grapes secured stable export volumes through cultivation management and diversified export markets such as Indonesia and Singapore, increasing by 20.2% year-on-year.

By export market, exports to the U.S. reached $1.44 billion, up 20.0% year-on-year, and exports to China reached $1.38 billion, up 7.0%. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs expects continuous growth until the end of the year due to new entries into large retail stores in the U.S. this year.

Yang Ju-pil, Food Industry Policy Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, “We will support follow-up consultations between exporters and buyers to ensure that the overseas buyer invitation consultation held on November 20 leads to exports. We will also focus on promoting online and offline sales events for top export items linked to the year-end consumption season in major countries and work as one team with major export companies to make every effort to expand exports.”

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