The ROK Sustains a Growing Trend of the Exports of K-Food Plus into the Year’s End

Sejong, 22 August 2025 — On 20 August in Seoul, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) held a 3rd meeting of the K-Food Plus Export Expansion Promotion Headquarters with exporters of agri-food products, agro-industrial exporters, and related agencies. 

* By the definition of the MAFRA, the agro-industry is an industry with forward- and backward-linkages with agriculture and agri-food products. For instance, products of the agro-industry include smart farms, agricultural equipment, agricultural chemicals, animal feed including pet food, veterinary medicine, etc. Agri-food products are excluded from the agro-industry.

The meeting was the first of the year since the U.S. government announced a reciprocal tariff rate of 15% applying to the goods from the Republic of Korea. The purpose is to keep an increasing trend of exports of K-Food Plus, achieved in the first half of 2025, going on a growing trajectory until the end of the year. The cumulative value of exports of K-Food Plus for the first half of 2025 reached USD 6.67 billion, up by 7.1% from the same period a year ago. 

* K-Food Plus (K-Food+) refers to a combination of (a) agri-food products (K-Food) and (b) the products from the agro-industry. Agri-food products mean non-processed agricultural produce and processed food products, excluding aquatic food products.

The MAFRA will take diverse measures to help alleviate Korean exporters’ burden and strengthen their capabilities to respond to risks in overseas markets. To this end, the MAFRA will provide financial support for Korean exporters in purchasing raw materials and managing facilities, and increase the volume of export vouchers for agri-food products. 

Also, with regard to a maximum of 0% in the premium rate of the foreign exchange risk insurance being applied to the U.S. dollar, the MAFRA will extend the application period. The premium rate for the foreign exchange risk insurance imposed on Korean companies has been a maximum of 0% for the Japanese yen. However, it was 5% for the U.S. dollar. Accordingly, earlier in 2025, as a measure to compensate for foreign exchange losses, the MAFRA expanded the application of a maximum of 0% in the premium rate from the Japanese yen to the U.S. dollar. 

Meanwhile, the MAFRA will continue to provide support for Korean companies to expand their share in large markets such as the U.S. and to diversify their export markets into the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, etc. Such government support includes sales promotion of Korean food products in big-box stores, holding the Buy Korean Food+ (BKF+), a buyers-exporters meeting where overseas buyers are invited, promotion of Korean food products through networks of overseas diplomatic offices, etc. 

H.E. Song Miryung, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of the Republic of Korea said: “Exports of K-Food Plus is a key driver to contributing to enhancing not only the development of the national economy, but also the national brand value of the Republic of Korea. We will continue our efforts to discover and develop a next-generation K-Food connected to the K-Initiative such as the Korean wave of culture and art. This way, we will continue to expand overseas export markets for K-Food.”