S. Korea’s exports of agricultural, food products rise 5 pct thru Oct.: data

SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s exports of agricultural and food products increased 5 percent from a year earlier in the first 10 months of 2025, driven by strong demand in the Middle East, the European Union (EU) and North America, data showed Friday.

Outbound shipments of agricultural goods and food products reached US$8.59 billion in the January-October period, compared with $8.18 billion a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Shipments to the Middle East spiked 20.4 percent on-year in the 10-month period, with exports to the European Union surging 14.8 percent and those to North America soaring 13.9 percent.

In the July-October period, exports to the United States only inched up 0.6 percent, apparently due to escalating U.S. tariffs, but shipments to the Middle East jumped 23.5 percent, driven by robust demand for Korean ice cream, beverages and sauces, according to the data.

Combined exports to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan expanded 7.7 percent on-year over the four-month period, with shipments of instant noodles, called “ramyeon” in Korean, soaring 62.9 percent.

Overall exports of ramyeon climbed 21.7 percent on-year to $520 million in the July-October period.

Shipments of coffee products advanced 21.3 percent to $130 million, while kimchi exports went up 6.4 percent.

Exports of grapes and ice cream soared 50.9 percent and 22.1 percent, respectively.