K-Food Exports 'All-Time High'... 12 Consecutive Months of Growth Until Last Month

From January to August this year, K-food (agricultural and food products) exports reached a record high of 6.5 billion dollars. The export growth trend that began in September last year has continued for 12 consecutive months through August this year.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 3rd that the cumulative K-food export amount (provisional) as of the end of August recorded 6.48 billion dollars, an 8.7% increase compared to last year. This is the highest export performance as of the end of August and marks 12 consecutive months of year-on-year growth.

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Top export items such as ramen, snacks, beverages, and processed rice products all recorded their highest export performances ever. Ramen exports increased by 31.7% year-on-year to 800 million dollars, driven by the popularity of spicy ramen, while snacks and beverages also grew by more than 10% compared to the same period last year. Among major items, the highest growth rate was seen in processed rice products such as instant rice and frozen gimbap, which increased by 41.7% year-on-year.

Exports of fresh agricultural products such as pears and grapes decreased by 0.6% year-on-year, showing a slowdown in the decline. A Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs official said, "The main cause of the export decrease in the first half of this year was the low production volume due to abnormal weather, which led to a shortage in domestic supply. However, as the fresh agricultural product harvest has been favorable since the second half of the year, export volumes are expected to be secured, and export performance is projected to recover to last year's level by the end of the year."

By market, most regions showed an upward trend. In particular, exports to the United States increased by 22.8% year-on-year, exceeding 1 billion dollars. Ramen and processed rice products, which gained popularity through social networking services (SNS), showed high growth rates.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is discovering and promoting collaboration models between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to foster SME exporters and support co-growth with large companies this year. The first case, GS Retail and Bongttang, have been selling localized Bongttang twisted doughnuts at seven GS25 convenience stores in Mongolia and Vietnam since August. Additionally, from late August, the collaboration model 'Maksa' (Makgeolli + cider) by Lotte Chilsung Beverage and Seoul Jangsu, which is being sold in Chinese retail stores, will also conduct joint promotions and marketing.

Yang Ju-pil, Food Industry Policy Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "We hope that 'Maksa,' a Korean drinking culture, will cool down Chinese consumers during the still hot weather. Through collaboration models like Maksa, we will introduce various SME products overseas and continue the export growth trend by discovering and placing distribution stores and importers in secondary cities of major export target countries."

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