Participants preparing kimchi, a traditional Korean dish of spicy fermented cabbage and radish, during a kimchi making festival held amid snowfall at the Jogyesa Temple in Seoul. — AFP
Seoul: South Korea’s exports of kimchi increased 6.9% from a year earlier to hit a record high in 2024, driven by growing global popularity of Korean cuisine, government data shows.
Outbound shipments of kimchi, a traditional South Korean side dish typically made from fermented cabbage, reached a fresh high of 47,100 tonnes, according to data released by the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Ministry yesterday.
The country had exported 44,000 tonnes of kimchi in 2023 and 41,100 tonnes in 2022.
The value of kimchi exports also climbed to a new record high of US$163.6mil in 2024, up 5.2% from the previous year.
“Kimchi exports showed stable growth last year thanks to rising popularity of kimchi overseas as one of the food representing South Korea, and a vegan and fermented food product, despite unfavourable circumstances, such as a disruption in cabbage supplies due to climate change and higher shipping costs,” an official at the ministry said.
South Korea exported kimchi to 95 nations last year, according to the data.
Japan was the biggest importer of kimchi, while the United States came in second and the Netherlands third.
Canada and Australia followed next at fourth and fifth, with shipments to the two countries jumping 61.5% and 37.2% year-on-year, respectively. — The Korea Herald/ANN
