Kimchi Exports (as of October, 2020) Hit a Record High… Promising Market is 'Japan'

- 28% increase in exports to Japan, Korean products take up 19.6% of the market … Imprinted as healthy food amid COVID-19 pandemic -

After the outbreak of COVID- 19, the demand for fermented foods that help improve immunity increased and Korea's Kimchi exports surged.

According to a report titled “Promising Item AI Report Kimchi” issued by the Institute for International Trade (President: Choi Yong-min) of the Korea International Trade Association on December 6, Korea's Kimchi exports by October 2020 increased 36.4 percent from the same period last year to a record high of 111.9 million dollars. In terms of volume, it exceeded 32,000 tons for the first time in history.

The analysis result of nine indicators from 58 major countries by AI showed that the market with high export potential of Kimchi were Japan (81.3 points), Germany (79.5 points), and Hong Kong (79 points).

Japan's import market of 'prepared and preserved vegetables (HS 200599)' including Kimchi was 366 million dollars, the second largest following the United States at 520 million dollars. In addition, until October last year, the Japanese market accounted for 49.9 percent of Korea's Kimchi exports, and the exports rose by 28 percent year-on-year to 59.48 million dollars. The market share of Korean products in the Japanese import market also steadily rose from 13.4 percent in 2017 to 19.6 percent in 2020 and received positive responses.

The report said, “When it comes to export growth, exports to the United States (56.3%), Hong Kong (50.4%), Australia (64.7%) and Singapore (85.4%) also increased by more than 50 percent compared to the same period last year,” and added, “It is understood that the interest in healthy food has grown after the outbreak of COVID-19 and that the Korean Wave effect such as BTS has been seen.”

Cho Eui-yun, a researcher at the Korea International Trade Association, said, “Despite the controversy over the 'international Kimchi standard' with China, Korean Kimchi is being put on the table around the world, solidifying its status as the birthplace of Kimchi,” and added, “As the demand for kimchi, which is recognized as a healthy food, is expected to rise continuously, exports will continue to expand if efforts are made to localize products and improve quality.”