The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs forecasts record snack exports this year. Shown is the snack section at a hypermarket in Seoul. (Yonhap News)

By Lee Dasom

The growing global popularity of domestic snacks is expected to result in their record-high export this year.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Sept. 23 said such exports from January to August reached USD 494.2 million, up 15.4% year from USD 428.1 million over the same period last year.

Snacks ranked third in agricultural and food exports after those of ramyeon (instant noodles) at USD 800 million and tobacco USD 728.6 million.

Snack exports from January through the second week of September marked steady growth to reach USD 529.1 million.

Their annual overseas shipments jumped 50% from USD 431.4 million in 2018 to USD 656.4 million last year.

At this pace, such exports this year are expected to break the KRW 1 trillion mark for the first time.

"Snack exports have grown apparently due to the popularity of Hallyu (Korean Wave) content," a ministry official said. "The improvement of exports was also thanks to Korean companies showcasing a diversity of products to fulfill the needs of local consumers."

The largest market for snack exports in this year's first eight months was the U.S. (USD 180.7 million), followed by China (USD 65.7 million), Japan (USD 49.3 million) and Canada (USD 24.1 million).

dlektha0319@korea.kr