Korea’s food exports up 4.7% on-year in January-April period: ministry

Korea’s exports of foodstuffs and agriculture-related products increased nearly 5 percent from a year earlier in the first four months of this year, the agriculture ministry said Wednesday. Exports in the “K-Food Plus” sector expanded 4.7 percent from a year earlier to $4.43 billion in the cited period, Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung said during a Cabinet meeting. K-Food Plus is a term coined by the government to promote exports of Korean food and agricultural goods, including farm machinery and veterinary medicine. The ministry has set an annual export target of $16 billion for the K-Food Plus sector this year on the back of the rising popularity of Korean culture. The country exported a record $13.63 billion worth of food and agriculture-related products last year. Exports to the United States rose 9 percent year-on-year in the January-April period, while those to China, the Middle East and the European Union increased 16 percent, 38 percent and 9 percent, respectively, according to the ministry.