S. Korea's farm exports rise nearly 7 pct in 2009

farm exports-2009
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's farm exports increased 6.9 percent
on-year in 2009 despite the worldwide economic slump that sapped consumer demand,
the government said Tuesday.

Outbound shipments reached US$4.80 billion, up from $4.49 billion tallied for
2008, according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The gain represents a better showing than the 13.8 percent annual drop in South
Korea's overall export volume for the entire year, but falls short of the
original government target of $5.30 billion for farm products, it said.
The ministry added that, in terms of volume, exports of locally grown farm
products, fisheries goods and processed food jumped 19.1 percent from a year
earlier to over 2.63 million tons.
"There was a solid gain in volume measured in weight, although the sluggish
global economic conditions caused a falling off in prices," a ministry official
said.
Fresh farm products and processed food exports rose 9.5 percent and 7.8 percent,
respectively, last year, with numbers for fisheries goods up 4.3 percent, he
added.
Shipments to Japan, the largest consumer of South Korean food products, rose 9.9
percent, while those to Taiwan, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and
Hong Kong all made gains between 13 and 23 percent.
For this year, the government hopes to export $6.40 billion worth of farm goods
for a gain of 33 percent vis-a-vis 2009. The country is aiming to push up food
exports to $10 billion by 2012.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)

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