South Korea’s exports of farm products topped US$9 billion this year on the solid global demand for instant noodles and other food items in line with the popularity of Korean culture, the agriculture ministry said Wednesday.
Outbound shipments of agricultural goods came to $9.01 billion, up 3 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Exports of non-processed goods fell 4.2 percent on-year to $1.51 billion, while processed goods such as instant noodles surged 4.6 percent to $7.5 billion over the cited period.
By item, sales of instant noodles, or “ramyeon” in Korean, jumped 24.7 percent on-year to $940 million, and those of beverages rose 11.6 percent to $570 million.
Exports of Kimchi rose 10.3 percent to $150 million, and outbound shipments of strawberries and pears also jumped 22.5 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively, to reach $70 million each, the data showed.
By destination, exports to China grew 8.9 percent on-year to $1.38 billion, and those to the United States rose 8.7 percent to $1.3 billion. Sales in the European Union and Britain increased 4.5 percent to $530 million, according to the ministry.
Source: Yonhap News Agency