South Korea's agricultural exports grew by double digits to reach a record $2.55 billion in 2007, a state-run farm trade corporation said on Monday.
The Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp. said that farm products shipped overseas totaled US$2.27 billion, a year-on-year gain of 10.9 percent.
The calculation reflects the value of goods exported until late November. However, because preliminary December sales showed solid growth, the state-run corporation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry estimated that total exports for last year grew by $246 million from 2006, when South Korea exported $2.34 billion worth of farm products.
The corporation said exports of fresh produce grew 9.3 percent on-year to $511.0 million, while exports of flowers, including orchids, soared 48.7 percent to $51.3 million, thanks to strong demand from China.
Exports of fruits, including pears, shot up 47.2 percent on-year to $121.3 million as demand picked up in Taiwan and the United States. Exports of kimchi, the traditional Korean pickle, gained 5 percent on-year to reach $67.4 million.
The trade corporation said the gains took place despite the Korean won's ascent of 2.8 percent against the U.S. dollar last year. The Korean currency also gained 4.0 percent against the Japanese won. A strong won makes locally made goods more expensive abroad.
"The gains are mainly attributable to better quality control and efforts by the government to get farmers to produce products that meet tough import conditions," said a representative for the company.