South Korea's food industry continued its remarkable performance last year, surpassing KRW 100 trillion in production for the second year in a row. Thanks to the K-food craze, exports of ramen and kimchi reached record highs.

Economic contribution of the food industry
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korea Food Safety Information Institute, Korea's food industry output in 2023 was KRW 108.475 trillion, up 3.5% from the previous year, accounting for 4.9% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) of KRW 236.329 trillion and 19.8% of the country's gross manufacturing product (GDP) of KRW 546.664 trillion.

Ramen and Kimchi Export Performance
Ramen exports grew 24.4% to $952 million, while kimchi exports grew an impressive 45.7% to $198.9 million. Ramen is gaining popularity overseas thanks to the Korean Wave, while kimchi is gaining traction as an immune-boosting food in the post-COVID-19 era, with demand surging in the US and Europe.

Other food industry growth
The production of ready-to-eat foods (bento) is also gaining traction, increasing by 63.4% to KRW 964.9 billion, along with an increase in overseas travel. In addition, exports of convenience foods such as seasoned seaweed are also on the rise.

Performance of major companies
Among Korea's major food manufacturers, there are a total of 11 companies with production performance of KRW 1 trillion or more, of which C.J. CheilJedang maintains the top spot with KRW 3.294 trillion. Lotte Chilsung Beverage, Nongshim, Ottogi, and Hite Jinro follow closely behind.

Outlook and utilization
The KFDA has stated that these production performance data will be utilized as an important basis for the development of the food industry, and more details can be found on the KFDA website. The continued growth of the Korean food industry is expected to make a significant contribution to the global spread of K-food. 

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This was our latest report on the growth of the Korean food industry.

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