While global popularity of K-food (Korean cuisine) continues to spread, nearly half of the agricultural and food export market has been found to be concentrated in three major countries: the United States, China, and Japan. With last year’s agricultural and food export value surpassing US$10 billion, analyses suggest the need to actively explore new markets to expand exports.

According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation on the 18th, last year’s agricultural and food export value was recorded at US$10.2 billion, approximately 15 trillion Korean won. Of this, nearly half, or 46%, was sold to the United States, China, and Japan.

By country, the United States accounted for US$1.83 billion (17.5% of the total), ranking first, followed by China at US$1.586 billion (15.4%) and Japan at US$1.306 billion (12.7%), securing second and third places, respectively. Over the past five years, the trend of the three countries—the United States, China, and Japan—dominating the top export destinations has continued.

The export share to these countries remained close to half each year, at 46.9% in 2021, 45.9% in 2023, and 45.6% in 2025. Major export items such as ramen, kimchi, and K-sauce products also showed a noticeable concentration in the three countries: the United States, Japan, and China.

In contrast, the share of new markets such as Europe and the Middle East remained in the single digits. Last year, exports to European Union (EU) countries, including the United Kingdom, amounted to US$773 million, accounting for 7.5% of the total. Exports to Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), also reached US$411 million, or 4.0%.

Meanwhile, the export value of fresh agricultural products, such as fruits and vegetables, which are closely related to farm income, was found to be lower than that of processed foods. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, last year’s fresh food export value was US$1.504 billion (21 trillion Korean won), a decrease of US$100 million (6.1%) from 2021 (US$1.602 billion).

This contrasts with the increase in processed food exports, which rose to US$8.748 billion last year due to the popularity of items like ramen and sauces, up US$1.79 billion (25.6%) from 2021 (US$6.958 billion). Notably, last year’s fresh food export value was even lower than the export value of a single processed item, ramen, which reached US$1.52 billion.

Although last year’s agricultural and food export value surpassed US$10 billion for the first time, the proportion of fresh agricultural products, excluding processed foods, fell below 15%. During last year’s government audit, there were criticisms that the export ratio of fresh agricultural products, directly linked to farm income, was too low. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to establish 20 new smart export-specialized complexes this year to stably secure the volume and quality of fresh agricultural products for export in response to climate change.

Source: MSN

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