SEJONG, Feb 9 (YONHAP/APP): The government will continue its efforts to boost the country’s food exports this year, Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung said Monday, also vowing increased efforts to develop new overseas markets for South Korean products amid the growing global popularity of Korean culture.
Song highlighted the Middle East and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as potentially prominent new overseas markets for South Korean food products.
The minister’s remarks followed her trips to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Singapore last month, which were aimed at promoting Korean food products in those countries.
“When I visited Gulfood, I saw many locals who said they became interested in K-food through K-dramas,” Song said, referring to the food and beverage trade show held annually in Dubai.
The agriculture ministry earlier said it has signed a series of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) worth a combined US$8 million with foreign buyers at this year’s Gulfood.
In Singapore, Song said she saw great potential for Korean beef and pork exports as the country recently began importing beef and pork from Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju.
The ministry has set a yearly export target of $16 billion for the food and agriculture sector this year, which would mark a 17.5 percent on-year spike from an all-time high of $13.62 billion posted in 2025.
K-food exports increased 12.6 percent on-year to $830 million in January, according to Song.
The ministry launched a task force for upgrading the country’s food export strategy last week, also designating key export items for different markets, such as kimchi in the United States, halal food in the Middle East and ASEAN, and persimmons in China.
Regarding Seoul’s renewed trade tensions with the U.S., Song said her ministry has been working to address non-tariff trade barrier issues as agreed under the countries’ trade deal finalized in October, and will continue to do so within the boundaries outlined in the joint fact sheet on the deal.
The ministry has newly set up a help desk committed to boosting communications with Washington on sanitary and phytosanitary procedures for imports of American agricultural products following the tariff agreement.
On the domestic front, Song said the government will distribute 170,000 tons of seasonal goods heavily consumed during the Lunar New Year holiday, which is about 1.7 times higher than the normal level, for the stable supply of agro-livestock products.
The extended Lunar New Year holiday is set to run from Saturday to Wednesday next week.
Song said the prices of agricultural products are generally stable, with livestock-related goods showing higher prices due to the spread of contagious animal diseases, such as avian influenza, this winter.