Seoul, July 3 (IANS) South Korea’s exports of agricultural and food products climbed to a record high in the first half on the growing popularity of Korean culture, the agriculture ministry said on Thursday.

The combined outbound shipments of agricultural and food items amounted to $6.67 billion in the January-June period, up 7.1 percent from $6.22 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, reports Yonhap news agency.

It marked the highest first-half figure on record, the ministry added.

By item, exports of instant noodles, or ramyeon in Korean, surged 24 percent on-year to $731.7 million over the cited period and shipments of sauce products climbed 18.4 percent to $228.4 million, while ice cream exports rose 23.1 percent to $65.5 million.

Exports of chicken meat also expanded 7.9 percent to $45.6 million, driven by the popularity of frozen chicken and Korean ginseng chicken soup in the U.S., according to the ministry.

Exports of farm machinery, veterinary pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals and other products also went up 3.1 percent on-year to $1.5 billion during the cited period.

By destination, exports of K-food items to North America jumped 24.3 percent to $1.03 billion, while those to the European Union and Britain advanced 23.9 percent to $421.8 million.

Exports to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, expanded 17.8 percent to $182.6 million, while shipments to the Commonwealth of Independent States and Mongolia grew 9 percent to $243.1 million.

“Despite challenges in global trade, such as U.S. tariffs and foreign exchange rate volatility, the continued growth of Korea’s food and agricultural exports was made possible thanks to joint efforts by export companies and the government,” Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung said in a press release.

Song said the government will devise additional measures to further boost exports of Korean food and agricultural products, with the goal of reaching $14 billion in annual exports this year.

—IANS

na/