Korea’s exports of instant noodles at record in first half

[Photo captured from Nongshim facebook]

South Korea’s exports of instant noodles, or ramyeon, have reached a record in the first half of this year, provisional data showed on Tuesday.

The country exported $446.2 million worth of ramyeon in the first six months of this year, up 16.4 percent from $383.28 million in the first half of last year, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp. and the Korea Customs Service. This represents the highest figure for the first half of any year.

The value of ramyeon exports have been increasing since 2015. It rose from $138.34 million in the first half of 2015 to $216.18 million in the first half of 2018, and then crossed the $300 million mark in the first half of 2020, reaching $320.76 million, and then, exceeded $400 million for the first time in the first half of this year.

The growth in ramyeon exports can be attributed to the global increase in demand for convenient foods, including ramyeon, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, growing interest in Korean products due to the spread of K-content is also considered a major reason for the increase in ramyeon exports.

The Oscar-winning Korean film “Parasite” featured Chapaguri, a mix recipe of the country’s top instant noodle maker Nongshim Co.’s black bean noodle Chapagetti and spicy noodle Neoguri, attracting a lot of attention overseas, and Jimin, a member of K-pop superstar BTS, eating Samyang Foods Co.’s Buldak Bokkeummyun, a hot chicken flavor ramyeon, on a live broadcast, also led to a global challenge to eat the product.

While ramyeon exports continue to show an upward trend, the overall export value of agricultural, fisheries and livestock food products has declined by 1.4 percent in the first half of this year, reaching $4.43 billion from the same period last year.

By region, exports to ASEAN countries fell by 7 percent and exports to the European Union (EU) and the U.K. decreased by 6.6 percent.