Chungcheongnam-do

▲ Graph of Seafood Export Amounts from Chungnam

▲ Scene from the Food Expo held in New York, USA, from June 25th to 27th last year

Chungnam's flagship seafood product, seaweed, has seen its export value more than double in four years, leading to the province's highest-ever seafood export milestone of $200 million.
 
According to the province on the 21st, last year's national seafood export amount was $3 billion (provisional), a 4.9% decrease from the previous year ($3.1259 billion), whereas the province recorded $202.19 million (approximately 270 billion won), up 18.9% ($32.14 million) from the previous year's $170.05 million.
 
This accounts for 6.8% of the national export amount, placing it sixth after Busan, Seoul, Jeonnam, Gyeongnam, and Gyeonggi.
 
The historic and first-time achievement of exceeding $200 million in exports was led by the seaweed category, which accounted for 91.1% of the total export amount due to its high popularity overseas.
 
Seasoned seaweed exports were $116.46 million, up 21% from the previous year's $96.21 million, making up 57.5% of the total export amount, while dried seaweed increased by 22.5% from the previous year's $55.31 million to $67.73 million, accounting for 33.5% of the total.
 
The national export amount for seaweed products was $791.47 million, with the province recording the second-highest export amount of $184.137 million (23.3%), following Jeonnam's $248.788 million (31.4%).
 
Despite a 27.5% decrease in other categories to $8.615 million (accounting for 4.4%), canned seafood saw a 415.5% increase from the previous year's $942,000 to $4.856 million (2.4%), and the remaining categories ？ fish meat, sea mustard, mollusks, dried seafood, seaweeds, shrimp, and crustaceans ？ accounted for a 2.1% share with $4.583 million.
 
By country, exports were as follows: △USA $48.598 million (18.6% increase), △China $40.571 million (11.1% decrease), △Indonesia $18.067 million (65.4% increase), △Thailand $10.076 million (27.3% increase), △Vietnam $9.577 million (47.2% increase), etc.
 
The province analyzed that despite challenging conditions such as the Fukushima nuclear plant contaminated water issue, the increase in demand for convenience foods and the spread of the 'superfood' perception of seaweeds led to increased consumption of seaweed, significantly influencing the overall export increase.
 
In fact, seaweed exports surged from $75.088 million in 2019 to $135.11 million in 2021, an increase of 79.9%, showing a steady growth trend.
 
The growth in seaweed exports has led to the province's seafood export amount surpassing $100 million for the first time in seven years since 2013 ($40.75 million) and then achieving the milestone of $200 million three years later.
 
Additionally, participation in international food exhibitions and promotional activities in large overseas retail stores, focusing on the main export growth markets such as the USA, Indonesia, and Thailand, along with efforts to enhance brand recognition, have contributed to the increase in export amounts.
 
Jang Jin-won, Director of the Marine Fisheries Department of the province, stated, "The highest-ever export amount was achieved last year through the efforts of local seafood companies and various export policies. This year, we will continue to do our best to expand exports and develop new markets by developing high-value-added seafood products and transforming domestic-focused fisheries into export-oriented enterprises."
 
 
Contact Departmen t: Fisheries and Aquaculture Industry Division, Seafood Distribution and Processing Team
Tel : 041-635-2782