A customer looks at a ramyeon package while browsing at a retail outlet in Seoul in this file photo taken July 5, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s exports of instant noodles jumped 17.7 percent on-year in the first seven months of 2023 to reach the highest figure for the period ever amid the growing popularity of Korean culture, data showed Friday.
The country exported US$522.03 million worth of instant noodles, or “ramyeon” in Korean, in the January-July period, up from $443.34 million a year earlier, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp. and the Korea Customs Service.
It is the first time that such exports for the first seven months of a year have surpassed the $500 million level.
In terms of volume, South Korea sold 134,791 tons of ramyeon in the January-July period, up from 124,413 tons the previous year.
Global sales of South Korean ramyeon products have been on a constant rise in recent years in line with the popularity of Korean movies, dramas and music, as well as high demand for ready-to-eat food products during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.
Last year, the country’s ramyeon exports hit an all-time yearly high of $765.43 million, and those of noodles, including ramyeon, udon noodles and other instant noodle items, also reached a record high of $862 million.
South Korea was the world’s second-largest exporter of noodles last year following China, according to government data.
(Yonhap)
