S. Korea’s exports of instant noodles surpass US$100 mln for 1st time in April: data

South Korea's exports of instant noodles surpassed the US$100 million mark for the first time last month on the growing popularity of Korean culture and food, data showed Sunday. Exports of instant noodles, or "ramyeon" in Korean, reached $108.6 million in April, up 46.8 percent from a year earlier, growing at the fastest pace since May 2022, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS). It marks the first time the monthly figure has exceeded $100 million, the agency said. Ramyeon exports have been on a constant rise since 2015 and are expected to hit a fresh high this year in line with the popularity of Korean movies, dramas and music, as well as high demand for affordable, ready-to-eat food products amid high inflation. Last year, ramyeon exports reached a record high of $952 million, jumping 24.4 percent from 2022. The KCS expects the exports to surpass $1 billion this year. Samyang Foods Co., a major South Korean instant noodle maker, saw its sales soar 57 percent on-year to 385.7 billion won ($284 .5 million) in the first quarter. The company said its revenue from overseas markets, in particular, shot up 85 percent thanks to the popularity of the carbonara flavor of its smash-hit spicy instant noodle item, Buldak Ramen. Overseas revenue accounted for 75 percent of Samyang's total sales in the first quarter, according to the company. Source: Yonhap News Agency