June 7, 2012

South Korea's food and agricultural exports increase for May

South Korea's food and agricultural exports for May has been boosted by increased overseas demand for fresh produce, the government reveals.

South Korea shipped US$660 million worth of farm products last month, up 1% from the same period last year, according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The modest gain comes after outbound shipments contracted 7.8% in April to US$620 million, according to reports.

The ministry said exports of fisheries products shot up 18.8%, with numbers for fresh farm produce gaining 6%. It, however, said processed food products such as instant noodles, biscuits and coffee mixes fell 9.3% on-year.

The ministry said exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Taiwan, the EU, Russia and the US all grew, while shipments to Japan and China -- the two biggest single markets -- fell from the previous year.

Shipments to Japan stood at US$204.8 million last month, down 2% on-year. Exports to China and the US reached US$94.6 million and US$55.6 million, respectively.

In the first five months of this year, food and agricultural exports grew 5.3% on-year to US$3.04 billion, it said.