K-food exports continued to grow this year despite maritime logistics disruptions and surging shipping rates caused by the Middle East war. Exports to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region surged nearly 40%, while key items such as ramen and strawberries also performed strongly, serving as a pillar of overall export growth. The government has launched a 7.2 billion won supplementary export voucher program, including logistics cost support, to assist exporting companies.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced Wednesday that cumulative K-food exports from January to April this year reached $3.583 billion, up 4.7% from a year earlier. Despite maritime logistics disruptions and rising freight rates caused by the Middle East war, GCC exports surged 37.6%, marking notable growth in new markets.
Among processed foods, ramen led exports with $616.6 million, up 28.9%. Confectionery rose 7.7% to $265 million, beverages climbed 6.5% to $236.7 million, and processed rice products increased 11.7% to $101.2 million.
Fresh foods also performed well. Strawberry exports rose 16.5% to $57.4 million, grapes jumped 25.5% to $17.5 million, and pears surged 62.4% to $7.7 million.
By country and region, exports to the United States rose 8.9% to $659 million. Exports to China increased 15.5% to $522.9 million, the European Union (EU) climbed 8.7% to $331.6 million, and Latin America rose 13.6% to $85.3 million. In particular, exports to the GCC region surged 37.6% to $159.7 million.
The ministry said it has expanded the pool of external experts at the "K-Food One-Stop Export Support Hub" from 33 to 53 since the outbreak of the Middle East war, strengthening response capabilities in the Middle East region, logistics, and currency risk areas.
Through cooperation between the Dubai branch of the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) and the domestic logistics industry, weekly updates on maritime, inland, and air logistics trends are also being provided. Related information is shared through the Korea Agricultural Trade Information (KATI) website and social media channels.
Exporters are also using alternative routes via the Khor Fakkan port instead of the UAE's Jebel Ali port. For fresh fruits, companies are maintaining air transport despite fuel surcharge burdens, focusing on minimizing supply chain disruptions.
Jaeda Co., which had been pursuing exports to Saudi Arabia, faced restrictions on refrigerated container port entry, but said it was able to coordinate export schedules with local buyers after receiving information on port-specific transport stability from the ministry and aT's Dubai branch.
The ministry recently selected 211 companies for the 7.2 billion won supplementary agricultural and food export voucher project to support Middle East exporters. Considering exports to or transit through the Middle East, each company can receive up to 150 million won in support.
More than 50% of the support funds must be used for logistics items. The scope of support has been expanded to include risk surcharges, detour freight charges, demurrage fees, and return shipping costs, and costs incurred from March, immediately after the war's outbreak, will also be retroactively supported.
Freshis Agricultural Corporation, which exports strawberries to Russia via Dubai, said: "When the Middle East war broke out, shipments arriving locally were discarded and orders were reduced or suspended, causing significant damage. We expect this supplementary export voucher to greatly help ease logistics burdens for fresh agricultural products."
"K-food exports were able to perform well even amid crises such as the Middle East war thanks to the combined efforts of exporting companies and government support," said Jung Kyung-seok, director of food industry policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. "We will further strengthen support for exporting companies through the swift execution of the supplementary budget."
