NEWS IN NEWS

Kimchi and Chicken Menus Prove the Popularity

The top Korean dish that is often consumed abroad was kimchi, and the most preferred Korean food was Korean-style chicken. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) announced the results of an online survey of local residents in 16 major overseas cities. According to a survey, 57.4% of respondents said they knew Korean food, and the satisfaction rate was found to be 81.3%. Overseas consumers perceived Korean cuisine as ‘spicy’, ‘exotic’, ‘savory’, and served with ‘a variety of side dishes’. Among those who have had Korean cookings before, kimchi(33.6%) was the highest followed by bibimbap(27.8%) and Korean-style chicken(26.9%). The consumption of kimchi seems to have climbed as the interest in health increased due to COVID-19. The most favored Korean food was Korean-style chicken(13.3%). It was also found that they take pleasure in eating kimchi(11.9%) and bibimbap(10.3%). In fact, food preferences varied by country. North and Central America adored bulgogi(12.8%), while Europe’s first choice was bibimbap(12.6%), and Northeast Asia liked grilled pork belly(11.6%). Also, Southeast Asia highly preferred kimchi(14.9%), and Oceania, South America, and Middle East enjoyed japchae(7%). Meanwhile, the countries with the highest recognition and satisfaction of Korean cuisine were China and Indonesia. An official from the MAFRA said, “With this survey, we were able to find out that the perception and base of Korean food among overseas consumers is developing. In the future, we will actively support Korean gastronomy and Korean restaurants by establishing strategies for each country to improve satisfaction.”

COVID-19 Influenced Consumption Patterns of French

The French consumers have been greatly affected by COVID-19 that their consumption and eating habits changed. One of the distinctive phenomena is the decline in the use of hypermarket. According to a survey by Lineaires, French food distribution magazine, the number of consumers shopping online has skyrocketed. Last year, according to Lineaires, 43% of French shopped their groceries online, a 16% increase over the previous year. In particular, the drive service, which places online orders on website and picks up the prepared items at the store at a fixed time, became very popular in France. The use of such service minimizes the time spent at supermarket and delivery fee is free of charge. Also, the shopping at small independent stores within residential areas such as butchers, wine shops, and grocery stores climbed. It was revealed that about 20% of people who did not go to these stores before COVID-19 started having a habit of visiting them since the pandemic.

A Breakthrough by Organizing Fresh Agricultural Exports

The MAFRA and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation(aT) are focusing on strengthening the capabilities of export organizations to build the export infrastructure for Korean agricultural products. To this end, it was decided to reinforce the capabilities of the integrated export organization, leading export organization, and specialized agricultural production complex. In Korea, currently, there is an integrated export organization for six items including paprika, mushrooms and strawberries. These export integration organizations jointly manage everything from safety management at the production stage to select, pack, and international marketing. In addition to these export integration organizations, forming a new export item organization will create a foundation for global export competitiveness. Furthermore, 196 agricultural production complexes support incentives and organizational education, centering on excellent complexes using the NongZip system to prepare farming journals, input warehousing and export status. In fact, the NongZip system will be digitalized into agricultural exports safety management system to respond to the difficulties of non-tariff barriers in major exporting countries.

Processed Rice Products Achieved an All-time High in Exports

In 2020, the export amount of processed rice products in Korea was increased by 27% compared to the previous year, reaching a record high. According to the MAFRA, the exports of processed rice products in 2020 reached USD 137.6 million, tentatively. The increase in exports seems to have been influenced by the growing demand for convenience foods and the support of the Korean government to advance into overseas markets. Among processed foods, rice cakes including tteokbokki increased in exports, mainly in Asian markets such as Japan and China, thanks to the spread of Kwave culture. In addition, processed rice, such as frozen fried rice and instant rice, surpassed the demand for HMR in the U.S. market due to the influence of COVID-19, leading to the expansion of exports. Exports by country reached USD 55 million for United States, USD 17 million for Japan, Vietnam with USD 12.7 million, and China with USD 9 million. In particular, U.S. exports skyrocketed by 53.5% compared to 2019, accounting for a whopping 40% of Korea’s processed rice exports. An official from the MAFRA said, “We will actively promote support for companies entering overseas markets to grow exports of processed rice products.”