Food minister pledges stronger support for kimchi export firms

The Minister of Food, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung, center, inspects kimchi block products made by Open Sauce Lab at Museum Kimchikan in Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Ko Dong-hwan

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung on Thursday pledged to provide stronger support for the country's major kimchi exporting firms as the food industry has been showing robust growth in the global market and the government is determined to make a record kimchi export this year.

Meeting representatives of six kimchi makers here at Museum Kimchikan in central Seoul, Song said that the government will improve the existing cold chain supply channels for kimchi ingredients including essential bacteria for microbial fermentation, which determine the quality of kimchi.

Song pledged to support the companies' market expansion to overseas by matching them with foreign buyers and researching new recipes using kimchi for broader consumers around the world.

Listening to the company representatives' wishes to see mitigated business operation costs and higher global demands for kimchi, Song said that she will consider more financial boosts and promote further the K-Food logo in global events to raise awareness on kimchi internationally.

"The diversity of kimchi we're exporting to 92 countries right now is quite staggering. There has truly been a major change that has boosted kimchi's variety to a level I never imagined," Song said after checking key products exported by major firms like CJ Cheiljedang, Pulmuone, Daesang and smaller companies such as Iikim, Louetlang and Open Sauce Lab.

The products showcased at the museum included kimchi sauces to kimchi powder, dried kimchi blocks and kimchi without "jeotgal" (salted preserved seafood widely used when making kimchi) to offer more options for consumers.

"Among the food products we're heavily exporting are manufactured products like instant noodles. But as for fresh produce, kimchi is on top of the list."

Korea's kimchi export has recently grown broader and more extensive in the past decade. Compared to 2013 when almost 74 percent of kimchi exports headed to Japan, the global market grew larger with the United States (25.7 percent) and the Europe (11.5 percent) importing significant portions of kimchi alongside Japan (39.5 percent) last year. This year, as of this month, kimchi exports amounted to $67.3 million, a year-on-year increase of 5.5 percent.

Exported kimchi is now on shelves in major retail chains like the United States' Costco and Walmart and France's Carrefour. To attract more foreign consumers, companies have been introducing new kimchi using ingredients and recipes specific to their respective regions.

"I believe that food is the best way to promote Korean culture overseas," Song said. "I also believe that the government and companies here as one team can together beat last year's food exports of $9.16 billion by reaching $10 billion this year."